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^v.
LETTERS TO SALVATIONISTS
ON
RELIGION FOB EVERY DAY.
LETTERS TO SALVATIONISTS
ON
EEUGION FOR EVERY DAT.
BY
General Booth.
1902.
THE SALVATION ARMY BOOK DEPARTMENT.
LONDON : 100, OLEBKENWELL BOAD, E.C.
NEW YOBK : 120, WEST FOUBTBENTH STBEET. -
MELBOUBNE *. 69, B0T3BX.1& ^fl^KSEni.
v
KA . _C_
I ■
V :
»
'^'^7844
< s^^f
. ! ' .> •* '.'0
PREFACE.
These Letters were, with one or two ex-
ceptions, originally published in The Social
Gazette and The War Cry^ two of the
weekly publications of The Salvation Army
in the United Kingdom.
As will be seen, from a very superficial
glance, they were intended to interest and
instruct those to whom The Army especially
strives to adapt itself, and to whom it seeks
before all else to be useful. Many of these,
perhaps the majority, have but a very
imperfect knowledge of the obligations of
Jamily and social life, much less of its
Ireflnements.
JO The aim of The Army is to benefit this
^lass, not only by leading them to submit
ji^q God, to seek His favour, and to spend
their lives in fighting fox t\\fe "EiXfcTc^^
6 Preface.
Salvation of their fellows, but to help them
to discharge the duties they owe to one
another, to their families, and to society
in general. We seek to make both good
Saints and good citizens — ^that is, to cultivate
the kind of Saintship that includes the
realisation and fulfilment of every duty
a man owes to Grod and to his fellow-man.
The topics dealt with are such as are
woven and interwoven with the lives of the
" common people." The style of treatment
is such as they can understand. Written
in great haste, under conditions not very
favourable to literary effort, I was, at first,
indisposed to their reproduction in a per-
manent form. But they have been asked
for, and asked for by the very people for
whom their message was intended.
In looking the Letters over, I see in
them imperfections and limitations without
number, but I have no time to re-write or,
indeed, to satisfactorily revise them. If they
are published at all, they must, therefore,
be taken as they are. In the future it may
perhaps be possible to supplement them with
some further and more carefully edited coun-
Preface. 7
sels on some other matters closely comiected
with the subjects treated of here.
Meantime, I send forth these Messages
from their General's heart to his dear
people, with the assurance of my love, and
of my confidence in God for them. Let
them remember that the best way to test
my advice is to practise it.
WILLIAM BOOTH.
London, Janimry^ 1902,
CONTENTS.
PAOX
I. WOBK .11
II. Gk)OD WOBK 15
III. The Choice of Wobk 19
rV. The Choice op Wobk (continiied) . 26
V. Why to Wobk Well 34
VI. OuB Wobk Must Please God ... 39
VII. Work and Religion 43
VIII. The Quantity op our Work ... 46
IX. Eesponsibilities of the Workman . .50
X. Labour and Love 54
XI. The Duty op Masters to Servants . . 62
XII. The Master in Eelation to the Servant . 73
XIII. Trade 78
XIV. On Clothes 96
XV. On Food 102
10 Contents,
PJiQE
XVI. Sleep 112
XVII. Personal Cleanliness . . . .115
XVIII. Conversation 119
XIX. Tribulation 136
XX. Poverty 140
XXI. Sickness 145
XXII. Bereavement 150
XXIII. The Bible 158
XXIV. The Sabbath 163
XXV. The Salvationist's Sunday . . .168
XXVI. Duty 172
APPENDIX.
Hints on Health and the Water Treatment . 177
RELIGION FOR EVERY DAY:
BBING
Letters to Salvationists all over the Worldj and
to all whom they may concern.
I.
Work.
My Dear Comrades and Friends, —
I propose to write you a few Letters on the
subject of your Every Day life. By your Every Day
life I mean the duties you have to discharge to your-
selves, your masters, your servants, the members of
your own families, and the world in general.
I am always talking to you about what we call
religious duties, such as praying and singing, making
efforts to save your own soul and the souls of the
people about you. In these Letters I propose
speaking of the things that men call secular, and
which many people reckon have nothing to do with
Religion. But I want to show you, if I can, that
the Salvationist's conduct ought, in every particular,
to be religious ; every meal he partakes of should be
a sacrament ; and every thought and deed a ^etvicA
12 Religion for Every Day.
done to God. In doing this, you will see, that 1
shall have to deal with many quite common-'place
subjects; and, in talking about them, I shall try to
be as simple and as practical as I possibly can.
The first topic to which I shall call your attention
is your daily employment ; and by that, I mean the
method by which you earn your livelihood. Or,
supposing that having some independent means of
support; you are not compelled to labour for your
daily bread ; then I shall point out that special form
of work, the doing of which Providence has plainly
made to be your duty. Because it is diflScult to
conceive of any Salvationist who has not some regular
employment, for which he holds himself responsible
to God.
Work is a good thing, my Comrades. To be
unemployed is generally counted an evil — anyway, it
is so in the case of a poor man; but, it seems to
me, that the obligation to be engaged in some
honourable and useful kind of labour, is as truly
devolved upon the rich as upon the poor, perhaps
more so. Work is necessary to the well-being of
men and women of every class, everywhere. To be
voluntarily idle, in any rank or condition of life, is
to be a curse to others and to be accursed yourself.
Everything in God's creation works. The stars
travel round and round in space, the ocean rises, falls
and dashes itself about in storms and tempests, the
winds career to and fro in the heavens, the clouds
are ever receiving and pouring forth their life-giving
waters. All the forces of nature are ever active, in
Older to fnJfil the bountiful purposes of their Maker.
M
Work. 13
Everything that can be said to have life works.
The plants, and the trees struggle into being, pushing
their way upwards through all sorts of opposition,
and then fighting the very elements, in order to
maintain their existence and bring forth their fruits.
All the living creatures on the earth, or in the
waters work. They have to hunt for their food ;
in many instances to construct their homes ; and,
in every case, to defend themselves against their
enemies ; and very hard work at times they find
it, I can tell you.
God works. He is the greatest Worker in the
universe. No being toils with the ceaseless activity,
with the unerring wisdom, the gigantic energy, the
beneficent purpose of Jehovah.
The inhabitants of Heaven work. To spend eternity
in the monotony of an enforced idleness would be,
neither more nor less, than a miserable existence.
Indeed, we could not conceive of Angels or Saints
or any other intelligent creatures being happy and
contented without some form of employment.
All the best, greatest, and most useftil men and
women who have ever lived, in this world, have been
mitiring workers. They would not have been eminent
in character^ position, or achievement without un-
ceasing toil. They have risen early, sat up late,
redeemed the moments, begrudged the time necessary
for sleep and food and the ordinary demands of life.
Work is a good thing, my Comrades. I have ever
found it to be so in my own experience. And
specially has it proved itself to be a blessing in these,
the latter days of my life. It \iaft \i^^Ti ^ Tc^'b%S!L^ <^1
14 Religion for Every Day.
grace to my soul, an nnfailing recreation to my mind,
and a perennial source of satisfaction and comfort to
my heart. The more I do, the more I want to do ;
and the more I am able to do, the more I see needs
to be done.
Now, I want every Salvationist to join with me in
regarding some kind of honest Work as his bounden
duty — a duty from which no circumstances of wealth,
position or ability can relieve him. Nay, I want him
to see that it is a privilege which he cannot forego
without entailing loss and damage upon himself and
those about him. If be would have health of body
and mind and soul for himself, he must be an
industrious worker. For I verily believe that idle-
ness is the fruitful parent of disease, insanity, and
sin. And the divinely-ordained plan by which he can
benefit his family, his friends, and his neighbours is
to work for them.
Whosoever, therefore, would prosper in every respect
for this world and the next, must give themselves up
to the doing of some kind of profitable work, and
that with their might.
I should also like to say that, in my judgment, every
Salvationist should not only accept his secular
employment as of Divine appointment, and strive to
do that heartily and well, but that in the condition
of life in which he finds himself placed, he is called
upon to be a worker together with Qod for the
Salvation of his fellow-men.
ifettiailft
16
11.
Good Work*
My Dbar Comradbs,—
In my last Letter, I urged upon you the
importance of being industriously engaged in some
particular form of labour. In doing so, I dwelt upon
the fact, that God had made Work to be the rule of
life for every creature that His hands have created.
I now want to show you that it is not only
important that you should work, but equally im-
portant that you should do good Work, — that is.
Work that is right and useful, Work that is pleasing
to your Lord, and profitable to your fellow-men.
Your Heavenly Father has made it necessary for you
to work in order to live. That is an important
condition which cannot be overlooked, but He has
gone beyond that. He has also designed that your
Work should promote your highest interests, and be
such as He can look down upon with satisfaction.
Now, I do not see that any arguments of mine can
be necessary to justify this simple assertion. It will
be plain to you all. A man who works ten hours a
day, six days a week, for forty years^ spends upwards
of one hundred and twenty-four thousand hours of
his life at his daily toil. It surely cannot be un-
important to him as to what kind oi N^q\V ^Sss. *^^
16 RELIGION FOR EVERY DAY.
occupies so large a portion of his life. Only think
of the energies of body and mind put forth by him,
during that long round of toil ; and think also of the
influence of the Work of all those years, for good or
for evil, upon himself and upon those around him.
That influence, you will see, I am sure, ought to be
made to tell, as far as possible, in favour of the
honour of God, the goodness and happiness of him-
self, and the well-being of his fellow-men ; but that
can only be the case when good and useful Work is
done.
Now in urging that you, my Comrades, should be
engaged in doing good Work, I find myself somewhat
in a difficulty. It is very probable, that many who
read this Letter will be already employed in some
kind of labour that does not answer to this descrip-
tion. For instance, your Work may be far from
being agreeable, either to your taste or your judgment.
It is not what you like. It does not seem calculated,
so far as you can judge, to bring either glory to God
or benefit to man.
But then you say. What am I to do ? I had no
choice in the matter of my trade or my calling. It
was fixed up for me by my parents, or I selected it
when my head was full of foolish notions, or I came
into it by accident, and now, however much I may
desire to do so, I cannot get away from it.
That is very much where I found myself, my
Comrades, when as a youth, I came to see life and
its responsibilities in the right light. I was chained
&8t to an employment, from which I would gladly
hure giren t}i6 world, had it been mine, to get away.
Good Work. 17
Do you ask me how I acted under the circumstances ?
Well, I acted then just as I recommend everyone
similarly fixed to act now. I put myself and my
destiny into God's hands. I told Him that I was
just willing to be and do with my daily Work what
He desired, and I waited to know His will. Mean-
while, I strove to do the Work in the station in
which I found myself as well as ever I could, and
seized upon, and made the very most I could of, such
opportunities for saving sinners as came within my
reach. In due course God delivered me, and my way
was opened to a sphere of useftdness beyond anything
I had dreamed of before.
He has done even so with me since that time
again and again. He is acting with me after the
same fashion to-day.
This is very much the method He adopts with all
His children. The Prophet says, " It is not in man
that walketh to direct his steps." That is, it is not
the Divine plan to make us the architects of our own
fortune by leaving us to cut out a pathway for
ourselves, regardless of God's controlling hand. But
we can keep our eyes open, watch for opportunities,
and courageously seize them when they arise. You
must act after this fashion, and He will guide you
into that work which shall be most for His glory
and your good.
StUl, it will be useful, I think, for me to give some
counsels to help my Comrades to choose such Work
as will give them satisfaction. Many of my readers
will be young people with life before them, and a
change will be possible to them, iS %^^\3l \»ci \i^
18 RELIGION FOR EVERY DAY,
desirable. They can afford to risk something in
order to reach a form of labour in which they can
engage with pleasure and profit, and realise all their
days that they are doing good Work. Perhaps I can
help them.
Then there are the children. Perhaps I may be
able to say something which, when the important
question of settling their Life Work comes up, will
help you to decide upon an employment that will
prove a pleasure in their future lives, a profit to
the world, and a satisfaction to your own soul
when you meet them again in the world to come.
19
III.
The Choice of Work*
My Deab Comradbs,—
In my last, I promised to famish you with
a few counsels, which would be likely to assist those
who may be seeking " good Work," either for them-
selves or for those dependent on them. The subject
is 80 serions iu its bearings, and has so many
important interests connected with it, that I find a
great difficulty in dealing with it, to any good purpose,
in the limited range of a short Letter. However,
I will try.
I have already explained my meaning ; but to be
fairly understood, I must say again that by good
Work, I mean Work that commands the approval
of Qod, and is calculated to be of some service to
man.
Now, in seeking such Work as that for his children,
or in trying to discover how Qod wants him to
employ himself while he is on the earth, there are
certain things the Salvationist will not be likely
to do, and certain things that I think he will be
likely to do. I will begin by mentioning some of
the things he will not be likely to do.
1. In making a choice as to the vaiioufi iae>tkQd&
20 RELIGION FOR EVERY DAY.
of labour possible to him, / do not think he will
he in/lttenced solely by the question of wages. I
am STire he will not, if he nnderstands his principles
and is true to them. He would most strongly object
to a master standing him up on a block in the
market-place and selling him for the sake of his
labour to the highest bidder. And to embark in any
trade or profession regardless of its character, merely
because it will produce the most money, amounts to
very much the same thing. Yet, I am afraid, nothing
loftier in the way of motive influences many people
in the selection of their daily toil.
Instead of asking ^^ How can I spend my time and
energies to the best advantage for my Lord, and to
the most profit for my fellows?" The question is
simply, " In what way can I earn the most money ? "
We admire Paul when he says, " I determined not
to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and
BKm crucified." If he had said, "I determined not
to know anything among you but how to make
money, and the soonest get a big balance to my
credit at the Savings Bank," we should have despised
him. Do not do anything that looks in this direction,
my Comrades ; but you certainly will if you go about
hiring yourself, influenced by no higher motive than
how you can get the most wages.
2. In choosing a Life Work, the Salvationist will
not be guided merely by what appears agreeable.
He does not live to please himself; and, while it
may not only be allowable, but wise and desirable,
to follow the natural tendency of the children's minds,
or of his own, in the choice of an employment, stilJ
THE CHOICE OF WORK. 21
the higher motive of usefulness, so often referred
to in these Letters, must be supreme. Jesus Christ
said, *' If any man will come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his Cross daily, and follow Me."
That injunction must be binding upon every Soldier
of the Cross in so important a matter as the employ-
ment of his time, and his powers. What a farce
must any other following of Him be I
3. In choosing a Life Work, no good Salvationist
will be draton to forma of useless labour. There are
a multitude of employments in the world that cannot
be exactly said to be injurious, but which, beyond
question, answer no good and useful purpose. They
could be dispensed with without anyone being par-
ticularly inconvenienced. They neither help man in
body, mind, or soul. As you would not like to spend
your days in blowing bubbles or beating the air, so,
as far as possible, avoid those idle performances that
bring little or no advantage to your fellow-men.
4. In choosing a form of employment, the Sal-
vationist will avoid what is injurious to the real
interests of mankind^ and opposed to the spread of
the Kingdom of Heaven. Alas ! alas I the world is
foil of the works of the Devil — that is, works that
have their origin in the heart of the Devil, that are
based on devilish principles, sustained by devilish
powers, and which ultimately carry those who practise
them to the place which the Saviour tells us was
prepared for the Devil and his angels.
Now, surely, no Salvationist would like to spend
his life in helping, in any form, to support and
extend such a dark and misery-ma^Lm^ \iT\&\Ckfc^^. ^^
22 Religion for Every day.
that end he most open his eyes and look abont
him, and keep clear of any employment, whatever,
which may present attractions that his conscience
tells him belong to any section of this Satanic School.
You had far better go to Heaven with Lazarus
from a Poorhouse, than ride in a coach-and-six
with the rich man to Hell.
Then, there is another aspect of the trades and
callings around us to-day, against which a Salvationist
should be on his guard. Many trades are dangerous
to health, if not absolutely destructive of life. Now,
there are plenty of methods by which you can
make a livelihood, without doing so at the price
of your health, and therefore, these disease-breeding
bninesses Bho^ld be avoided.
But there is another danger, more serious still,
concerning which I must warn you. There are many
occupations in which it will be very difficult, if
not impossible, to keep a good conscience. I need
not counsel you to leave these severely alone.
Your own conscience will tell you what you ought
to do.
But I will suppose that some of my readers find
themselves already embarked in one or other of
these objectionable methods of labour. What are
they to do? I think I have already answered that
question. If any man or woman is not certain, in
their own minds, whether their present occupation
is wrong, in the sight of God, or not, let them ask
Him to show them ; and if it is contrary to His
will, to deliver them from it.
But what is a Salvationist to do, who is employed
The Choice of Work. 23
in the homes or about the persons of people whom
he knows to be ungodly ? As, for instance, what is
a carpenter to do who finds himself building a house,
or a compositor printing a book, or a housemaid
waiting at the table, for individuals openly opposed
to the Word and Work of God ?
They must remain at their posts and do their duty >
and thereby seek to win those whom they serve
to Christ, unless plainly called by God elsewhere.
To get away entirely from the service of wicked
people, or from having any connection with their
doings, is utterly impossible, circumstanced as we are
at present. To do so, we should have to go out of
the world altogether.
I remember once hearing a celebrated Doctor
say, that a certain wealthy brewer had written him
asking his advice concerning a particular malady
from which he was suffering, and which was likely
to prove fatal. My friend, who was an ardent
Temperance man, said to me that he had no doubt
he could help him, and perhaps save his life, but
the question with which he was occupied was whether
it was his duty to assist in keeping a man alive
whose business was so palpably opposed to the best
interests of mankind.
Now many servants might reason after this fashion
with regard to their masters and mistresses, and
even with the members of their own families, but
it does not appear to me possible or desirable to
act upon such a rule. God does not do so Himself.
He allows the wicked to live and to prosper. He
sends His rain^ and makes His sun to shine with
24 RELIGION FOR EVERY DAY.
almost equal benefit on the evil and on the good,
seeking, no doubt, by the bestowment of these mercies
to Jead the transgressors to repentance.
A rather remarkable story, I heard a good many
years ago may serve as an illustration here.
A gentleman, well-to-do in the world, having a
large circle of gay companions, and spending his life
in all manner of revelry and vice, had a very pious
wife. She was so patient and forbearing with him
in his evil-doing that he was in the habit of boasting
of it. One night, when engaged in a midnight revel,
he offered to wager a dozen bottles of wine that if
he went home, late as it was, or rather early in the
morning, and rung his wife up, and ordered a supper,
that she would rise, call the servants from their beds,
and have the meal prepared, the whole being done,
not only without reproaches, but with kindness and
good humour..
The bet was accepted by one of the gentlemen,
and they all repaired to the house. The man did
as he had proposed. The lady rose, the supper was
prepared, and, with a meek but pleasant countenance,
she sat at the head of the table. This so surprised
the gentleman who had accepted the wager, that he
addressed her somewhat as follows : —
" Madam, you surprise me. Your husband has
behaved in a most unnatural manner, and we have
been ungenerous parties to it. He has roused you
at this unreasonable hour, and compelled you to go
through what must have been a most unpleasant
task, and, although the whole business must have
been most repulsive to your feelings, you have not
THE CHOICE OF Work. 25
uttered one word of complamt. Can you explain to
UB the reason for your forbearance ? "
To this appeal the lady replied :
" My husband is pursuing a course which can only
have one termination. I have prayed for him, wept
over him, and besought him to abandon his evil ways,
but all in vain. He appears fully set on finishing
his journey, which can only lead him to the world
of woe. There, 1 know, he will have no more glad-
ness. I love him, and have therefore resolved to
do what I can to promote his comfort, and furnish
him with innocent pleasures, while he is here, seeing
that there will be nothing but regrets and misery
for him in the next world."
As she said this, she burst into tears, and the
gentleman to whom she spoke, was so impressed that
he went away, resolved from that hour to forsake
his sins and serve the living God.
It certainly is not our duty to punish every evil-
doer we meet, even if we had the power. But it is
our duty to discharge such earthly obligations as
are laid upon us with respect to them. The con-
sequences of their conduct must rest with themselves.
But what I am specially insisting upon in this
Letter is, that every Salvationist must be responsible
for employing himself, as far as he finds it possible
to do so, on such Work as he can do with a good
conscience — such Work as is worth doing well, and
such Work as will be really useful to man and
honourable to God.
26 Reugion for Every Day.
IV.
The Choice of Work {continued).
My Dbab Comradbs, —
I said something in my last Letter about it
being the Duty of parents to find good Work for
their children. I am sare you will see the bearing
of the question upon their happiness and usefulness
in the future. You know, and sometimes say, that
there has been much in the shaping of your own life
that you could wish had been diflferent. But that
evil is beyond remedy now. You cannot go back to
your childhood and change the things that happened
then. But, to a marvellous extent, you can do for
your children what you wish had been done for yon,
and so make it easier for them to live the sort of
life that you wish you had lived yourself.
Few questions of greater importance can arise in
the hearts of parents than that which asks, ^'What
shall we do with the children ? How are they to
earn their livelihood? What employment shall we
choose for them ? "
What I said in my last Letter was, in some part,
an answer to this question, but perhaps a word or
two further may be useful :
1. Do not choose for them any^ Work which will
The choice of Work. 27
mdke it difficult for them to live a truly Godly life.
When any form of industry is proposed, your first
enquiry respecting it should be — " Is this business, to
which I am about to consign my child, such an one as
can be followed by him with honour and truth and
righteousness ? Is it an employment that is favour-
able to his keeping a clear conscience and exhibiting
the character of Jesus Christ ? Is it one upon: which
he will look back with satisfaction in the world to
come ? Is it one that will permit him to put forth a
fair share of efforti for the Salvation of souls and the
glory of his Saviour ? "
Now, if it is not, I beseech you to let no I prospects
of wages, or position, the pleasing of friends, the
wishes of the child himself, or anything else, lead
you to consign him to it. No earthly allurement
must be strong enough to induce you to give your
child to an employment that must be, more or
less, one of conflict with his conscience all through
his life, and which may involve the ultimate loss
of his soul.
2. Do not consign your children to those kinds of
employment^ where the surroundings will be likely to
lead them from God. There is a great diflference in
the class of temptations that have to be averted, and
the companions that have to be resisted, in the
various trades around you. Some are, indeed, and of
a truth, a broad way leading straight down to destruc-
tion. Any other destiny for those whose feet are
placed thereon seems all but impossible. By all and
every honest means keep your children away from
these downhill roads to Hell.
28 Religion for Every Day.
You would count a father cruel, who sent his boys
to skate or slide on ice, which a little enquiry might
show him was not equal to bearing their weight.
Do not send your children into circumstances which,
a little foresight will show you, are dangerous — where
the ice will give way and let them in.
3. Do not fix your children up in any employment
which their health will not be likely to stand. Look
into the thing beforehand, and if it seems that the
hours may be too many, or the physical strain too
great, or the standing too taxing, or the anxieties
too much for the nerves, let it pass. Perhaps the
trade may unavoidably render some noxious vapours,
or there may be some other tendencies that will
sap the springs of vigour in your boy. Never mind
what it is, if it is injurious. Think what a precious
treasure good health is I If the child has a healthy
body, take care of it, — and if not, so much the more
need for you to watch over the measure of health
that he does enjoy.
I do not want you to shrink from committing your
children to lives of hard work. But I do think you
should be careful in this respect, especially with the
delicate members of your flock. Some will stand
more hardship than others. Discriminate.
4. Strive to select Work that mil match the
capacities of your children. I suppose that every
child is specially gifted in some particular direction.
One boy will have extra ability for one kind of work,
and his brother for another. As a rule, children,
indeed everybody, prefer to do those things for
wiuch thej have the jgiost aptitude. Therefore, if
The Choice of Work. 29
you can set them going in the direction for which
they not only have the most liking, but the most
ability, yon will serve them well.
Bat here I am faced with a di£Scnlty. I know
that many of my people will lack both means and
opportunity, for settling their boys and girls in
that Work which will best match their tastes and
capacities. Circumstances render it indispensable
that Dick should go to the mine, or Harry should
follow the plough, or Mary should go to domestic
service, however much they would prefer, or seem
fitted for, something else. Well, if that be so, as
I have said before, you must conclude that, at
present, that is God's plan, and you must wait on
Him to learn whether He has any other.
5. In making a choice of employment for your
children, let me warn you against allowing yourselves
to regard any class of labour as menial or degrading y
if that Work be good and honest Work, honourable
in the sight of God, and serviceable to your fellow-
men.
The prevalent rage for what are considered to be
more " respectable " methods of earning a livelihood,
is working very injuriously amongst the labouring
part of the community. Everywhere parents who have
themselves brought up families by hard, manual toil,
are carried away with the desire to put their children
into positions by which they shall be able to earn
their bread by what they have the vain conceit to
imagine is an easier and more reputable way than
that which served them so well.
They think that if they can make them <^\^Tfe csx
30 Religion for Every day.
teachers, get them behind connters, or train them
for 8ome profession which will not soil their hands,
it will be preferable to domestic service, or to the
mining or mechanical or other laborious trades
followed by themselves.
Hence, all roand the world, those branches of
industry which are regarded as being genteel are
overcrowded ; the wages paid in them being often
insu£Scient to purchase the necessities of life for
the workers and their families. So that when they
get the opportunity of Marriage, a respectable
semi-starvation is frequently the result of what they
had thought would be a change for the better.
Now I want you to realise that the Work of the
servant in the kitchen, or the artisan in the workshop,
or the labourer in the field, is as respectable, before
God, as that of the master in the counting-house,
or the mistress in the drawing-room.
The employment of the stoker in the fire-hole
of the steamer is just as honourable as that of
the engineer, who superintends the machinery ; of
the Doctor who prescribes for the sicknesses of the
passengers ; or the Captain who directs the course
of the vessel.
Other considerations, no doubt, enter into this
question, some of which I may refer to another time.
But what 1 now beg of you is, not to be led off
by any stupid notions as to hard, manual, common
Work being in itself degrading, or anything of the
kind. No true honourable labour on the face of the
earth, which works no ill to one's neighbour, is to
be despised.
The Choice of Work. 31
6. But here I may be asked the question, Oiight
not a Soldier* s children to he trained for Officership ?
To this I reply, Most certainly they ought, if they
make it manifest that they possess, or are likely
to possess, gifts that will qualify them for such an
important position.
Every Salvationist father ought to foster in the
hearts and minds of his children — boys and girls
alike— the idea that to be Officers in The Salvation
Army is the highest and most useful position to
which they can hope to aspire in this world, and
80 create the ambition in their hearts to reach it.
And every Salvationist mother ought to do the
same, only more so.
That ambition took possession of my own soul
soon after I was converted. There was no Salvation
Army in those days, so that I could not aspire to
be an Officer in it ; and to be a Minister in my
Church appeared so high, so lofty, and so far away,
that I scarcely dared to think I could ever attain
unto that. Still, I yearned after it with an increasing
yearning, for six long years, never turning aside
from it, hoping in the face of every kind of discourage-
ment that the position would ultimately be mine.
In due course God, in His loving-kindness, rewarded
my perseverance, and brought me into it.
In after days my precious Wife joined with me
in creating in the hearts of our dear children a
similar ambition. They were made to feel that
there was only one walk in life that would be
right and proper for them. This feeling grew and
grew, until it became an inward conviction, that
32 Reugion for Every Day.
they had been redeemed, and converted, and sent into
the world, in order that they might engage in this
great Work.
It will be so with the children of my dear Soldiers,
if they will only lead them on to it, by home example
and teaching, and when they do develop some desire
and show some ability for OflScership, that desire
should be strengthened and that capacity shoTild
be cultivated. Let them be enrolled as Corps
Cadets, and have every opportunity possible given
them for acquiring the necessary Training. Above
all, their religion should be carefully watched over,
and the flame of love to God and souls kept burning
in their hearts.
But where Oflicership has been decided upon, sup-
posing the necessary gifts and piety are forthcoming,
a thorough training in some form of industry will
prove advantageous to them in after life, no matter
what rank they may hold, or what position they
may fill.
The advantage of such a course, with respect to
the boys, will be self-evident. I believe there is a
custom in the German Royal Family which binds
every member to acquire a knowledge of some form
of skilled labour. I think the present Emperor is
a compositor ; that is, a printer. K to have a practical
knowledge of a trade at his finger ends is considered
a desirable acquisition in an Emperor, how much
more will it be found so in a Salvation Officer ! Then,
should some difficulty intervene to prevent the child
reaching the position of Officership, the knowledge
he has acquired will serve the important purpose of
The Choice of Work. 33
enabling him to earn a livelihood. Or should health,
or some other nnforeseen trouble make it necessary
for himio retire from active command after he has
gained the position, the trade learned in his youth
will be very useful.
But if it is deemed desirable that the boys should
be taught some useful form of Work, it is absolutely
essential that the girls should, at least, learn those
things that lie within a woman's sphere which they
ought to know, and which have to do with the
comfort, economy, and well-being of the household.
There was nothing about a home that my dear
Wife did not understand, and was not able to do. She
could whitewash the ceilings, paper the walls, paint
the doors, plan the carpets, make the children's
clothes ; and, what was of no little importance in a
large family, so bake the bread and cook the simple
food as to make it, at the same time, pleasant to the
taste and easy for the digestion.
None of this kind of knowledge will be a burden
to any of our dear girls when they have grown to
womanhood, or acquired the position of Officership.
On the contrary, it will greatly increase their worth
and usefulness in a thousand different ways.
34 Reugios for Every day.
V.
Why to Work Well.
My Dbak Comrades, —
I have been urging you, in my previous Letters,
to arrange that the Work by which you earn your
livelihood should be good Work ; that is, Work that
is pleasing to God, profitable to the worker, and
useful to your fellow-men. I have also advised that
if you find yourselves engaged in any kind of labour
or trade that is other than this, you should abandon
it as soon as possible. I have urged, further, that
in selecting the kind of Work by which your children
shall support themselves in after life, the same rule
should be followed. Do not embark the youngsters
on a sea of inconsistency and diflSculty, on which
it will be all but impossible for them to serve God,
keep a good conscience, and voyage with truth,
honour, and safety, to the Heavenly Shore.
I now approach another equally important aspect
of your Duty. Having good Work to do, I want you
to make it a rule to do it as well as you possibly can,
so that you shall come to be known by those around
you as a good Workman ; or as the Apostle puts it —
" A Workman that needeth not to be ashamed."
My first argument for this recommendation is :
1. Do good Work for its ovm sake. Do not allow
Why to Work Well. 36
yoQrself to be inflaenced to any contrary course, by
any considerations of personal ease or worldly gain,
by the example of your fellow-workmen, or indeed by
anything else. Make up your mind to torn out good
Work whether you are sufficiently paid for it or not,
and that, on the principle that whatever is worth doing
at all is worth doing well. Whether it be the build-
ing of a wall, the cooking of a meal, the writing of
a letter, the oflFering of a prayer, the singing of a
song, or any other duty that falls to your daily lot,
put forth such strength of muscle, or mind, or heart,
or of all together, as the task deserves, and make
a good job of it.
I have myself made this principle a rule of action
for many years ; but my dear Wife was the most
notable example of it I was ever privileged to meet.
Whatever she undertook, from the preaching of a
sermon to the darning of a stocking, or the fastening
on of a button, she did it as well as it could be done —
anyway, as well as she could do it. Many a time, I
have besought her to be content with half the number
of stitches, when doing the last-named little service
for me, and I have been in haste to get away. But
she would answer my entreaty by saying " You want
it to stay on, do you not ? " steadily proceeding with
her task till the button was properly secured.
Now 1 want you to adopt this principle as the
rule of your lives. However unimportant or in-
significant your Work may appear to yourself, or to
those around you at the time, if it is your Work,
do it well.
2. Do good Work for the sake of those for whom it
36 Reugion for Every Day.
is done. One of the roles tx) which yonr life has to
be conformed, reads, " Whatsoever ye would that
men should do to you, do ye even so to them '* ; so
that if you would like your neighbour to do good
Work for you, you must do good Work for your
neighbour. You would not like him to do deceptive,
scamping Work for you, and therefore you must not
do deceptive, scamping Work for him.
In the doing of your Work you have to keep in
mind both the pleasure and the profit of those for
whom you do it. If you make a pair of boots for a
man, whether he be a friend or a stranger, they
should, as far as possible, be such as will give the
wearer pleasure in looking at them, and, what is more
important still, pleasure in wearing them. If, as the
poet says,
" A thing of beauty is a joy for ever"
why should not you, in making boots, be a manu-
facturer of joy as well ? A pair of boots may be
pleasant to the eye for a time, if not for ever, and
profitable into the bargain.
This is the Divine plan. In His wonderful labour
in making this world and all that is in it, God must
have been actuated by a desire to give both pleasure
and benefit to those who would either look upon it or
use it. Some pleasure He, doubtless, anticipated for
Himself in beholding, from time to time, all the
precious and beautiful things His hands had made ;
but still. His main delight in their creation, must
have been the pleasure and profit He foresaw they
would jield to others. Imitate your Maker.
JVhv to Work Well. 37
3. Do good Work because it will be to your own
advantage. To begin with, good Work will give you
personal gratification. It will be a pleasure to yon
whatever it may be to others. Yon will be glad that
yon have been able to prodnce a good piece of Work.
It may be that in the past yon have got into
scamping habits, or even acquired a scamping
conscience. If so, you must get both conscience and
habits rectified, and that to such a degree, that to
turn out other than good Work will become absolutely
painful — indeed, when it is preventable, it will be
impossible. Altogether, apart from the pleasure or
profit it may yield to others, or the personal gain it
may bring to yourself, you ought to find real pleasure
in the doing of good, substantial Work.
Again, good Work is Educational. Practice —
that is, doing a thing over and over again — makes
perfect. But the doing of a thing over and over
again yields no benefit, unless there is the constant
striving after improvement on the part of the doer.
It is only by trying to do a thing well that improve-
ment can be assured. If every time you paint a wall,
or plane a board, or plough a field, or write a letter,
or do anything else, you are trying to do that Work
as well as you possibly can, you are thereby acquiring
the ability to perform the same task better the
next time. On the other hand, the more Work you
scamp the worse Workman you will become, and
the more you will be avoided by those who want
Work done well.
Again, good Work is financially profitable to the
doer of it. Everyone knows that «b ^oo^ ^cs&smscl
38 Reugion for Every Day.
is more soaght after, and better paid, than an inferior
one, and is, or onght to be, more highly esteemed,
into the bargain. I know that some people think
that all Workmen onght to be brought down to
the same level, as regards remuneration and other
advantages, without reference to the difference existing
in the value of their Work. But no regulations can
prevent the best Workman coming to the top, having
the earliest promotion, being the most liberally paid,
and the last to be discharged when hard times come
along.
4. But, as a Salvationist, you have higher motives
and nobler reasons for doing good Work. You must
acquit yourself in your vocation^ whatever it may be^
80 as to please your Heatenly Master; I am sure
you cannot do that except your Work be worthy
of His esteem. He observes the manner in which
every one of your duties is discharged, and you
cannot possibly deserve, or reasonably expect. His
approval unless the Work is done up to the level
of your fullest ability.
39
VI.
Our Work Must Please God»
My Dear Comrades, —
In my last Letter, you will remember that I
dwelt upon the importance of doing good Work.
Having secured useful employment, I urged that you
should strive to do it to the best of your ability.
This applies to every class of Workers whose labour
is of any real service to the community, however
exalted or however humble that service may appear.
Whether it be breaking stones, driving a horse,
cleaning a house, commanding a Corps, or any other
kind of employment, if it is honourable and useful,
strive to do it well.
Now I want to resume my theme. I was, when
J closed my last Letter, trying to show that every
man should, in addition to other motives, endeavour
to do his daily Work to please God. My argument
is very simple, but I think it is sound. When a
man ploughs a field, or makes a watch, or a door, or
a coat, he ought to feel that there are four pairs
of eyes upon him as he proceeds with his task,
all of which he must strive to please. To begin
with, —
1. There are his own eyes, and he ought to aim
at pleasing them ; and if they are right eyes, nothing
40 Reugion for Every Day.
bat good, 8onnd Work will do that. That alone will
give him troe pleasure at the moment, and afford
him real satisfaction afterwards.
2. There are the eyes of the man who will use
the watch, open the door, wear the coat, or reap the
produce of the field. Now, the Workman ought to
resolve that when his Work is done, it shall, as far
as is possible, give those eyes satisfaction when they
look upon it. For instance, if he has made a door,
he should be able to say to himself: "This door
shall be a pleasure to the man or the woman who has
to open and shut it. I have made it well, so that it
shall not fall to pieces, and I have made it to fit, so
that it will keep out the draught, and open and
shut with ease and quietness.''
3. Then there are the eyes of his earthly master,
if he has one, and most of us have at least one. I
have a good many ! But, whether one or many, we
can strive to do our Work so as to give satisfaction,
if not real pleasure.
4. Then there are the eyes of his Master in Heaven.
He must before all else try to gratify them — and I
have only just been saying that nothing short of good
Work will do this. For this no scamping or hypocrisy
in Every Day labour, any more than in Spiritual Work,
will suffice. Making things to look fairly well on the
outside, while hollow, or inferior, or rotten within,
will not gain His approval. You will want Him to
say " WeU done," when He judges your Work at the
Great White Throne, but you can have no just ground
for entertaining any such expectation unless you are
doing it well to-day.
Our Work Must Please God. 41
You would utterly condemn me, if you thought
that I engaged in my Work, in The Army, merely to
make a good show, or for some personal profit, and
did not care about what God thought of the matter.
My Comrades, there are not two different standards
of Work — one for you and one for me. You must,
therefore, be under the same obligation to do your
Work in the house, or in the mine, or in the
warehouse, or wherever the Providence of God has
placed you, to please your Heavenly Master, as 1 am
on the Platform, in the Council Chamber, or wherever
my duty may call me.
But here another question arises. Do you accept
Jesus Christ as your Master in the affairs of your
daily life ? If not, of course, this part of my argument
will be thrown away ; but if you do, then it will be
the most powerful of all.
At the commencement of His Ministry, Jesus
Christ announced that He was about to establish
the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. By the
Kingdom of Heaven He meant a Kingdom consisting
of heavenly government, heavenly laws, heavenly obe-
dience, heavenly power, heavenly love, heavenly joy.
These, taken together, constitute the chief character-
istics of this Kingdom, and instead of being confined,
as it had been hitherto, to a handful of people in
Jerusalem and Judaea, it was to cover the whole earth.
Now the subjects of that Kingdom must accept
Jesus Christ as their Master and Lord. No one can
either come into that Kingdom or remain in it
without compliance with this law. You cannot be
a Son without being a Servant.
42 Reugion for Every Day.
But you have written yonrselves down as His
Servants, and said you will "no longer live unto
yourselves," nor to please the world, but to do the
will of Him who has redeemed you ; that is, to please
Him. Now, the Master's province, everybody knows,
is, not only to choose the Work of His Servants, but
to get it done, if possible, to His satisfaction.
He has appointed me my Work. He has arranged
that I should direct the movements of this great
Army, preach Salvation, write Letters for you to read,
save as many sinners as I can, and strive to get my
Soldiers safely landed on the Celestial Shore. Before
all else, I must do this Work, as nearly as I can, to
satisfy my Lord — and nothing short of the best Work
I can produce will accomplish that.
And as with me so with you. He has chosen
your Work, if you have put your life into His hands,
just as truly as He has chosen mine, although it
may be of a different kind. I am writing this Letter
in the train. I am a poor writer at the best. When
I was a child my schoolmaster neglected to teach
me to hold my pen properly. In this respect he
did not do good Work, and I have had to suffer for
it ever since. Still, I am doing my Work as well
as I can, in order that it may profit you and please
my Lord.
43
VII.
Work and Religion*
My Dear Combadbs, —
In my last Letter, you will remember that I
was trying to show that it was the duty of all good
men and women to do their Work, not only with
the view of giving satisfaction to themselves and
to their earthly employers, but, also, to their Master
in Heaven. Is not this the distinct command of
our Lord, given through the Apostle Paul to the
Salvationists at Ephesus, the most of whom would
probably be slaves? They were to do their Work,
"Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as the
servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the
heart ; with good will doing service, as to the Lord,
and not to men : knowing that whatsoever good
thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of
the Lord, whether he be bond or free."
Now, that passage contains the Divine Orders and
Regulations for these Ephesian Soldiers, with regard
to their daily Work ; and if it means anything at
all, it signifies that, whether bond or free, treated
well or treated badly, we are to do our Work to
please God ; and that if we do so. He will sooner or
44 Reugion for Every Day,
later declare His approbation of it, and see that we
are properly remnnerated.
Now, in pursuing this theme, allow me to remind
you again, that I am talking of the labour of Every
Day life, and that I am bringing all honest, honourable
Work on to the same platform. If our Work is of
God^s appointment, then it is all equally religious,
all equally a part of God's life for us.
I do not say that all Work is equally important
to the world ; that planting potatoes, weaving calico,
or chopping wood is likely to have the same bearing
on the well-being of mankind, as the guiding of
an Empire, or the conductiug of a Salvation Army
Campaign. But I do say, if you have found your
own proper Work, whether it appears in the eyes
of men to be great or small, it is of equal importance
that you should do it in the best possible manner.
Suppose that two of your Comrades — a brother
and a sister — were removed to Heaven, and that on
arriving there they found the place, to their no little
surprise, strongly resembling the world they had
just left. Suppose, further, that the Saviour were
to come to the brother, and say to him : " I want
you to build a cottage for one of My servants to
live in ; you must make it strong and sound in every
particular, and do it as quickly as you reasonably can."
Then, suppose that He turned to the sister, and
said : " I have just taken this child out of its mother's
arms on earth. I want you to rear it for Me. You
must nurse it, and clothe it, and train it, so that it
may be capable of serving Me, as I may require."
And then, addressing them both, suppose He were
WORK AND REUGION. 45
to add : ^' I shall look in npon yon every day to
see how you are getting along, and shall reward
yon according to yonr diligence and devotion."
Now, would not that brother and sister be likely
to feel highly honoured by the task imposed upon
them by their Lord? and would they not, at
once, set themselves to its discharge with all the
earnestness they could command ? And though
they might not consider their Work to be as im-
portant as much of the Work going on around
then>in the Celestial Country, I am sure that they
would regard it as being quite as important that
they should build that house and rear that child
to the best of their ability, as it was for the Arch-
angels to exert all their power in doing the Work
they had to do for the Master right up before His
Throne.
Now, God has no less appointed you your Work
in this world than He has in the next ; and I contend
that you ought to be just as anxious to do that
Work to plgase Him here as you will be to do the
Work appointed you there. You pray, day by day,
" Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven,"
and it is a blessed desire. Why not strive with all
your might to fulfil it? God will help you.
46 Religion for every day.
VIII.
The Quantity of our Work»
My Dear Comradbs, —
Having dealt with the qnestion of the quality
of our Work, let me now proceed to consider the
question of the quantity. Is the amount of Work
a man does a matter of choice with him ? Or if he
can manage to get along without any Work at all,
is he at liberty to do so?
To this question I reply that, in my judgment, a
man ought not only to earnestly strive to do good
Work, but to definitely seek to do as much of it as
he possibly can. A notion very generally prevails
that, instead of doing all the Work of which you
are capable, you should do as little as possible, and
certainly no more than you are paid for. This, I
admit, will be the wisest course to take, if you have
Work to do which is injurious to your fellow-creatures.
In that case, as I have said before, I say again — that,
whether you get paid for it or not, you had better
not do it at all. But, if you can do anything that
will be of any service to the people round about
you, I recommend that you get at it,- by all means,
and do as much of it as possible, irrespective of the
The Quantity of our Work. 47
benefits yon may reap from it, or indeed, whether
you reap any benefit or not.
For instance, take the crowd of able-bodied men
that you can see every day hanging aboat the public-
houses, or at the corners of the streets, for hours
together, with their hands in their pockets, waiting
for a gossip, or a drink, or a job, which the Devil,
as is his custom with idle hands, will not be
slow to furnish. Would it not be better for them
to be helping their wives with the washing, or
lending a hand at cleaning up the house, or digging
in somebody's garden, or mending the roads, or doing
anything else from the bare love of doing Work,
that would be beneficial to their fellow-men ? I
think it would — -nay, I am sure of it.
At a Railway Junction where 1 had to wait the
other day, for a train, I saw about twenty navvies
sitting or standing alongside the line, some of them
smoking, but otherwise doing nothing. It was a
very cold, raw morning, with an East wind blowing
up the gully in which the station stood, that
seemed to pierce your very bones. For a time I
could not understand why these men should be
shivering alongside their work, without striking a
stroke, while I could see, with half an eye, that
if they had been picking and shovelling, they would
have been warm, and comfortable, while the Work
would have gone forward into the bargain. A little
reflection, however, showed me that it was the break-
fast hour, and that, having concluded their meal, they
were simply waiting for the allotted time to elapse
before they started afresh. ^
48 Religion for Every Day.
This method of doing things appeared to me to
be wrong, both in principle and practice — anyway,
wrong for a Salvationist, who looks at his life from
the standpoint of the Bible, which teaches him
the duty of doing as mnch good Work for his
fellow-men as possible. Instead of standing there,
shivering, waiting for the clock to strike, it would, I
imagine, have been better for these navvies to have
resumed their task, as soon after the meal was
concluded as they reasonably could, and I see several
advantages that would have resulted from their
domg so.
As these men and their Work are only typical
of other men and their Work, I will mention some
of these advantages.
1. They would have been more comfortable at
Work than they were standing idle.
2. The improvement they were effecting on the
Railway, whatever that might be, would have been
forwarded.
3. Their employers would have been pleased with
the disinterested manner in which they pushed their
business forward, and would have been likely to
have given them some extra payment.
4. They would have shown a good example of
industry to all about them.
5. They would have done this, had they been
working for themselves. For instance, if they had
been cleaning or mending their own houses, or
digging in their own gardens, they would have
wanted to do all the Work they possibly could. But
as the benefit of their labour was for other people.
The Quantity of our Work. 49
they did as little as they coald do. This looked
very much like selfishness.
6. They would have allowed no reasonable thing
to prevent them going on with their task if they
had been doing it for their Heavenly Master, and
had been inflaenced by the desire to please Him.
In describing the illness of her hnsband the other
day, and her own part in nursing him, a woman
informed me that she had not had her clothes off,
for her ordinary rest, for seventeen days and nights.
She did not complain of this hardship ; on the
contrary, she was pleased at having been favoured
with an opportunity of proving her love for her
partner. Her affection was the mainspring of her
sacrifice. Now, love for his earthly master and his
Heavenly Lord should be the ruling principle with
every Salvationist in his daily toil ; and when this is
the case, his strength and the claims of other duties
will alone limit the amount of work he will do.
50 Reugion for Every Day.
IX.
Responsibilities of the Workman*
My Dear Comrades, —
In these Letters, I have been insisting, that
it is the duty of every Salvationist to do as much
good Work as is reasonably possible. The illnstra-
tion I used in my last, of the men working on the
Railway, during a part of the breakfast hour, instead
of standing about unemployed, is open to several
objections which I want to answer. To do this, I
will mention a few things that must be considered,
in conjunction with what I have said about the
Railway men.
1. In settling how much Work he will do, a man
must have due regard to the claims of his own
health. If he rushes at his work without due
discretion, and does more than his strength will
reasonably allow, he will probably break down, and
so prevent his working altogether, or for a season,
at least. Whereas, if he exhausts no more energy
than he can recover by sleep and food and rest,
at the time, he can go steadily forward, and by
doing so, accomplish a great deal more, in the long
run, than he would by temporary extravagant exer-
tion. When speaking on this subject, I sometimes
Responsibilities of the Workman. 51
say that I nse my body as I should use a horse,
if I had one — that is, I should not seek to get
the most labour ont of him for a week, regardless of
the fntnre, bnt I should feed and manage him with a
view to getting the most I could get out of him all
the year round. That is, doubtless, the way a man
should use his body, and to do this he should take as
much time for his food and daily rest as is necessary
to replace the energies he has used up by his Work.
In the leisure taken for this purpose, it will be
necessary to have specified hours, as otherwise, those
who are without principle will take advantage of the
weak, and anything like system will be impossible.
2. Then, again, when the proper performance of a
particular task depends upon the united labour of a
number of individuals, who have agreed to work in
co-operation, it will be necessary, in the interests of
the whole, that each should conform to the regula-
tions laid down, always supposing that such rules are
in harmony with truth and righteousness.
3. The wishes and interests of employers have also
to be taken into consideration. But, in every case,
the principle is equally obligatory upon all.
4. These duties will demand, and must have
devoted to them, a measure of the time at our
control. What that amount of time shall be, must
be determined by the relative importance of those
duties. For instance :
(i) There is the Work a man can do for his earthly
employers, over and above the amount that is con-
sidered to be a strict and just return for his wages.
Here again, he must be guided by Jesus Christ^s
52 Religion for Every Day.
rnle, and to do unto his master as he wonld that
his master should do unto him.
(ii) There is the Work that he onght to do for his
family, apart and beyond the bare earnings of their
daily bread. This is Work which no one else can do
so well, and which, if it be neglected by him, will
probably not be done at all.
(iii) There is the effort that every Workman should
put forth for his own personal improvement. For
instance, a youth of seventeen works, we will say,
ten hours a day for his employer, who would very
much like him to put in another hour at the same
task, and would be willing to pay him extra for
doing so. This, we will suppose, the youth could do
without any injurious effect to his health. But then,
by reading his Bible or cultivating his mind, he
might qualify himself to become an OflScer, or to fill
some other important position, in either case fitting
himself for a field of greater usefulness, in the
future, than the one he already occupies. Under such
circumstances, it must be the duty of that youth
to take that hour for his own improvement, rather
than to use it to enrich his master or increase his
earnings.
(iv) Then, every Soldier of Jesus Christ must duly
consider and obey the claims of the Salvation War.
That is, he must strive to take his fair share in that
conflict. Whether he is his own master, having the
direct control of his time, or whether he works for
an employer, who only allows him so many hours
for leisur e, he must conscientiously devote as much
of thi^Ji^''^y|e can to saving his fellow-men. In
Responsibiuties of the Workman. 53
settling this question, he mast nse his common-sense,
and claim the promised direction of the Holy Spirit.
God will guide him.
What I protest against here, is the notion, born of
indolence and selfishness, which affirms that we should
do as little, rather than as much. Work as is consistent
with the maintenance of health, and with the claims
arising out of the relations in which we stand to
those about us.
However, circumstances will transpire, during the
earthly career of every one of us, calling for self-
sacrificing Work that must be performed, regardless
of consequences to health or any other interest.
Supposing, by way of illustration, a ship has
sprung a leak, through which the water is rushing
rapidly in, endangering the lives of both the
passengers and crew. Under such conditions, would
not every man on board be justified in working night
and day to prevent the threatened calamity? Nay,
further, would not the laws of humanity call upon
every one concerned to do so, at the risk of crippling
themselves, or even sacrificing life itself, in order
to gain the greater good of saving the vessel from
destruction, and rescuing a number of their fellows
from a watery grave ?
54 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
X.
Labour and Love.
My Dbab Comrades, —
I wonder how far you have gone with me
through the course I have travelled in these Letters ;
and what your thoughts are respecting the whole
question ? As with the bulk of those who write for
the benefit of others, I am continually haunted by
the curiosity which seeks an answer to the questions :
Does anyone read what I write ? And reading, do
they understand what I say? And understanding,
do they agree with what is said ? But what is most
important of all : Is anybody the better for what I
have written ?
However, without waiting for answers to these
questions, 1 suppose I must practise what I preach,
and go on writing my Letters, as well as I possibly can.
And at the risk of being tedious, I propose again to
mention some of the things for which I have con-
tended, and to add one or two more arguments in
their favour.
My contention then, is, that whether in the shop
or on the ship, in the parlour or in the kitchen, in
the factory or in the field, on the Salvation platform
or in the coal mine, whether Officers or Soldiers, we
Labour and Love. 66
are all alike, as Servants of God, under the obligation
to do all we possibly can in the service of men ; and
to do it with the holy motive of pleasing our Heavenly
Master.
Here let me review my Warrant for requiring from
you the kind of loving labour that I advocate.
1. The Bible enjoins it. We have already quoted
Paul's words to the Ephesians, in which he says
that our work is to be done, " Not with eye-service
as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing
the will of God from the heart ; with good will
doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men." That
is all I ask for.
2. It is enjoined by the doctrine of brotherly love.
I cannot understand how anyone can suppose, for a
moment, that he is living a life acceptable to God
unless he is striving, with all his might, to fulfil
the Divine Command, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself." Your master, or whoever has a claim
upon your service, must be included in the term
" neighbour " ; and to comply with the command of
the Saviour, you must work for that master, or
mistress, as the case may be, from the voluntary
principle of love rather than the earthly and selfish
principle of gam.
3. Is not the disinterested method I am urging
upon you in keeping with the loftiest ideals the
world possesses with respect to Work ? About whom
does she write her Poetry ? Whom does she laud to
the Heavens in the Pulpit, on the Platform, and in
the Press? Whose names does she inscribe the
highest in her Temples of Fame, or hand down to
56 Religion for Every Day.
posterity as examples for rich and poor, old and
young alike, to follow? Is it the man who makes
his own ease and enrichment his only aim in life,
and who toils and spins for nothing higher than his
own gratification? Nothing of the kind. It is the
generous, self-sacrificing, disinterested being who uses
himself up for the benefit of his fellows.
Nay, at whom does that same world ceaselessly
sneer, and whom does it most pitilessly despise ? Is
it not the mean and narrow spirit whose conduct is
governed by selfish greed and sensual indulgences?
Whatever may be her practice, in this respect, the
sentiment of the world is in the right direction. She
asks for benevolence evidenced by unselfish labour,
and admires it when she finds it.
A paragraph went the round of the newspaper
world, a little time back, describing how an American
millionaire had decided to spend the rest of his days
on a Leper Island in the Pacific Ocean, in order to
labour for the amelioration of the miseries of its
unfortunate inhabitants. Wonder and admiration
everywhere greeted the announcement.
Shall we go back on all this spirit of self-sacrifice ?
Shall this kind of thing die out, or only have an
existence in poetry books, platform quotations, or
anecdote collections? Shall we change over to the
" pound-of-flesh " principle, and hire out the Work
of our hands, the thoughts of our minds, and the
burning passions of our souls, for the largest amount
of filthy lucre, and the greatest measure of earthly
comfort, that we can obtain for them ; so justifying
the lying libel on humanity, long since spoken, and
Labour and Love. 57
stUI often sneeringly quoted, that every man has his
price ? Or shall we say that love — the love of God
and man — is the highest and divinest motive of
labour — a motive possible not only to the sons and
daughters of genius, but accessible to the plainest,
humblest man or woman who suffers and toils on the
lowest round of the ladder of life.
4. I argue in favour of this doctrine on the ground
of its profitableness to the Worker. My readers will
probably have asked long before this, How far do
these propositions harmonise with the interests of
the servant ? Ought he not to take his own well-
being into account? Certainly. He must have
just as true a regard for his own welfare and the
welfare of those, dependent upon him, as he has for
that of others. The command, " Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself," can only be rightly interpreted
by another, like unto it, which reads : " Whatsoever
ye would that men should do to you do ye even so
to them." Therefore, he mast ask, that others
should do unto him as he would do unto them,
supposing they occupied changed positions. This
must mean that, while righteously concerned for the
interests of others, he must be reasonably concerned
for his own.
But here a little difficulty comes into our arga-
ment, arising out of the play of the higher motive
of affection. What does Love care for gain in its
calculations of service ? The husband who loves
his wife as Christ loved the Church, does not stop
to consider the claims of duty, or the advantages
following its discharge in toiling for her welfare.
\
58 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
He will be willing to die for her, as Christ died
for the Church.
He does not say, "I will toil for my delicate
wife, and deny myself pleasant things, in order
to obtain for her the necessaries and comforts she
requires, because she would do the same for me, if
I were in her place and she in mine." Nothing of
the kind I The wife I spoke of, who told me the
other day that she had not had her clothes off for
seventeen days and nights in nursing her husband
did not make it appear that she thought she was
doing anything extraordinary, or that she rendered
this service to her companion in life because she
felt sure that had he been the wife and she the
husband, he would have gladly done the same
for her.
Had the newspapers thought that the American
millionaire was going to the Leper Island, with his
gold, to make something out of it for himself and
family, or to make a name in the world, instead
of his being greeted with a chorus of admiration,
there would have been a universal chorus of execra-
tion at his selfishness. It was because they believed
that he was going to make the sacrifice of his own
gain, if not of his own self, for the benefit of the
poor sufferers, that they praised him.
Supposing, however, that we come down to the
low level of self-interest, we insist then, that those
who work from the motive of love, rather than the
motive of gain, will not necessarily be sufferers in
consequence, so far as this world goes. But it
may be asked, " Will not unprincipled masters or
Labour and Love, 59
mistresses be likely to take advantage of this docile
and unselfish, spirit ? " Perhaps, nay, doubtless, in
many cases, they will. The Salvation Army has
been taken advantage of all through its past history,
and so have all the true Saints of God, because they
have submitted to wrong, and have not fought the
injustice and false representations and persecutions
inflicted upon them from the beginning. It will
possibly be so to the end, but that does not affect
the principle for which I argue, which is, that we
must do good Work, and as much of it as we can,
regardless of what the world may give us in return.
But, I think, I have sufficiently shown, as I have
gone along, that this class of service is not without
its earthly rewards, and that every interest of human
nature — selfish and otherwise alike — ^testify to the
probability of its proving profitable to those who
practise it.
If, however, the reward does not come in the
form of money, or houses, or lands, there will be
gain in that which is far more valuable than money
and houses and lands, and which money and houses
and lands cannot buy. There will be the gain in
peace, in satisfaction, and in joy in the Holy Ghost
in this life, to say nothing of the gain in the world
to come. But, on this point, I shall have more to
say another time.
I remember hearing a gentleman relate the follow-
ing incident in a large meeting : — " Some time back,"
he said, " I was passing through the streets of
Liverpool. It was a cold, raw, wintry day. The
streets were ankle-deep in an unpleasant mixture of
{
60 Religion for Every Day.
mud and ice, and battling through it all, there
came along a little procession of ragged, haggard,
hungry-looking boys. Splash, splash, on they went,
through the freezing slush, at every step making
the onlookers shudder as they stood by in their warm,
comfortable coats and furs. In the front rank was a
little fellow, who was scarcely more than a bag of
bones, half-naked, barefooted, his whole frame shiver-
ing every time he put his foot down on the melting
snow.
" All at once, a big boy came forward, and stooping
down, bade the lad put his arms round his neck, and,
lifting him up on his back, took his perished feet
one in each hand and jogged along with his burden.
" I was moved," said the speaker, " at the sight ;
and going up to the boy, commended him for his
kindness. In his Lancashire brogue the lad replied,
* Aye, aye, sir ; two feet in the cold slush are not so
bad as four.' After a while," said the speaker, " I
offered to carry the little chap myself, but the honest
fellow shook his head, and said, * Nay, nay. Mister ;
I winna part with him. I can carry him ; and he's
a-warmin' o' my back.' "
And so, if seeking the good of others may not
bring as much worldly gain as a selfish course of
action, it does ensure that joyful warmth of heart
which all loving service brings, and which is among
the most valuable of all the treasures of earth or
Heaven. Every man who acts on this principle is
adding to the general sum of human happiness.
What is the sum of celestial happiness, the happiness
of God, the happiness of the Angels, the happiness
Labour and Love. 61
of the Blood-washed spirits who are safely landed
there ? In what does this happiness chiefly consist ?
I reply, Not in the golden streets, the unfading
flowers, the marvellous music, nor all the other
wonders of the Celestial Land put together, but in
Love. Love is the essence of the bliss of Heaven,
for "Love is Heaven, and Heaven is love." This
happiness we can have below. It is not the love
others bear to us that makes our felicity, but the
love we bear to them ; and, thank God, we can as
truly love on earth as we can in Heaven.
5. And theuj as I have been saying all along ^ acting
on this principle constitutes true religion. As labour
done from selfish, fleshly motives is of the earth,
and as the results which follow it will perish with
the earth, even so labour done to bless mankind and
to please God is Divine, and the results flowing out
of it must be everlasting honour and joy. Where
this principle is carried into effect, every part of
human conduct becomes religious — nay, a positive act
of Divine worship, and an acceptable song of praise.
62 Reugion for Every Day.
XI,
The Duty of Masters to Servants*
My Dear Comrades, —
We have described something of the Duty a
servant owes to his master, which is to labour to
promote his interests, as far as he can do so con-
sistently with a good conscience. We have shown
also, that the servant is to do his Work, not only for
the benefit of his master, but for the love of it, for the
esteem of his fellow-man, and for the satisfaction of
his Father in Heaven.
Now, 1 have no doubt that many masters and
mistresses will agree with the wisdom and desirability
of such conduct on the part of the servants. They
will say, " That is just what we want our servants to
do. That will be good for us, and it will be good
for them. Let every servant do his Duty."
I come now to say, and that as plainly as I possibly
can, that it is the Duty of the master to deal with his
servants on the same principles, and from the same
motives, that he expects his servants to deal with
him — that is, he must promote the welfare of his
servants to the utmost of his ability.
The servants are placed under his charge, by God,
for this very purpose, and he is under an obligation to
The Duty of Masters to Servants. 63
make them^ as far as he can^ happy^ holy, and nsefol.
And that obligation is, to a certain extent, as binding
upon him as if the servants were his own children.
For if masters and mistresses are not the parents of
their servants, they are at least their guardians, and
will have to give an account to God of the way in
which they discharge their stewardship.
The obligation of the master to seek the interests
of the servant, is based upon the same authority as
that which binds the servant to seek the interests of
his master. He is to do unto others as he would
that others should do unto bim.
Let us suppose that we have here a master named
Brown, who lives in the City of London. He has a
son who is the servant of a man named Smith,
a Salvationist, who resides in the country. Brown
loves his son, and, as a father, naturally desires his
welfare. He is, therefore, anxious that Smith, while
grinding a reasonable amount of Work out of his boy,
should at the same time care for his happiness and
welfare. He would like him also to have an eye on
his companions, and the way he spends his money
and his leisure. At the same time, he thinks it quite
reasonable to expect that Smith, being a Salvationist,
will also care for the welfare of his soul.
Now, if this is what Brown would desire and
expect from Smith, has not Smith an equal right to
claim from Brown an equivalent amount of con-
sideration and attention? For instance, is it not
quite reasonable that Mr. Smith should say, " Come
now, Mr. Brown, I want you to do for my son, who
is in your employ, just precisely the same as I have
64 Reugion for Every Day.
done for your son, for * one good turn,' yon are aware,
* deserves another.' " That is, therefore, an equivalent
or an expectation — I contend it is one which all
fathers and mothers have a right to hold, respecting
the treatment their sons and daughters should receive
from their employers. It is an expectation which
the servants themselves have a right to entertain :
it is a Duty enjoined by the Master Himself.
Here I want to remark that there is nothing
menial or degrading in the position of a servant.
Neither is there anything in the relation in which
a servant stands to a master that signifies the
sacrifice, in any degree, of his natural rights. Men
used to think and publish abroad, that a slave had
no legal claim for anything beyond what his master
thought proper to give him, and that seldom ex-
tended beyond the supply of the barest necessaries
of life. To be allowed even to live and toil for the
benefit of his master, was by many looked upon as
a favour. To treat a slave as a servant, or having
a just claim for wages or any worldly comforts, was,
with few exceptions, unknown. It is true that slaves
were, in some instances, allowed to hire themselves
out as servants to other employers, but in such
cases, the masters were always careful to appropriate
their earnings.
A very similar, although perhaps not quite so
selfish and degrading a view of the menial character
of Work and of the serfdom of the Worker, appears
to occupy the minds of many employers to-day. To
get what you can out of your employes, whether men,
women^ or children, and give them as little as possible
The Duty of Masters to Servants. 65
in return — nothing, if yon can manage it— is not
only the mastering idea, but, I am sorry to know,
also the mean practice, of many in this generation.
This, I need not say, is as different from the teaching
of the Bible — and as opposed to the spirit of our
blessed Salvationism — ^as darkness is from light. My
Comrades, you must beware of anything approaching
it. ^' Am I not a man ? " in earlier times, the slave
might have said to his owner. " Give me my
rights ! *' " Am I not a brother ? " the servant can
say to his master in our day. " Treat me as such I "
And if that master is a Salvationist, I shall expect
him to do so, and God will hold him responsible for
fulfilling my expectation.
The least a master can do for his servants is to
see that, as far as possible, they are supplied with
those things which are absolutely necessary for a
comfortable existence.
In pleading for this I do not, in reality, ask for
much more than the humane master was accustomed
to give his slaves, or, indeed, for much more than
the intelligent farmer gives to his cattle. In the
matter of his horses, or his cows, he says, " If I
want these cattle to do well for me, I must do
well for them. I must give them warm and dry
houses to live in. They must have nourishing
food, be looked after when they are sick, and not
overworked when they are well." That is the way
to treat cattle, if you want them to be profitable
to you and do well by you.
Now, I suppose that these were the feelings
with which the average planter, in the Southern
5
66 Religion for Every Day,
States, regarded his slaves forty years ago ; and
he would have considered that no man knew how
to manage his human chattels profitably then, who
did not do for them, at least, all that the farmer
feels he ought to do for his cows and hogs to-day.
Surely, surely, those employers of labour who would
resent the idea of treating their servants with less
consideration than the slave-owner did his slaves,
will see that they, at least, do as much for them as
he did for his human property in the old times 1
Perhaps, some employers may say, "We do not
take the responsibility of providing sufficient food,
lodging, clothes, and other necessaries for our
servants. They are not slaves — ^they are free. We
pay wages, and leave them to provide these things
for themselves." But that explanation does not
remove the responsibility from the master, for it
may be asked, " Are the wages you pay sufficient to
enable your employes to obtain these necessaries for
themselves ? "
If Brown stands, in the eyes of God, in the relation
of guardian to Smith Junior, does the fact of his
paying him wages wherewith to provide himself with
board and lodging in some other house which he
hires for the purpose, instead of finding these things
for him in his own, relieve Brown from the responsi-
bility of supplying young Smith with sufficient
money to obtain the necessaries that he requires ? I
do not think it does. It seems to me, that to do his
duty by young Smith, Brown must, in return for his
labour, supply him with substantial food, suitable
clothes, and a decent room to sit and sleep in, or he
The Duty of Masters to Servants. 67
mast give him sufficient money wherewith to pur-
chase these things himself; and there should be a
little over for helping his father if he needs it, or to
make provision for a home when he gets married.
That is a very low estimate, indeed. If Brown
does not do this, then so far as life and health and
food are concerned, Smith Junior would have been
better o£f if he had been born forty years ago on a
cotton plantation in one of the Slave States in
America ; and if Brown has the ability to do this
and refuses, he cannot claim to be treating his
servant in accordance with the law of Christ.
I simply ask that a master, while seeking his own
welfare and comfort, shall at the same time, take the
welfare and comfort of his servants into considera-
tion, and plan and scheme for their advantage as well
as his own.
In conversing with a gentleman some time ago, I
remember his saying to me, ^^ When I came to this
estate, I found a large portion of it under the cultiva-
tion of the plough, but I laid it all down for grazing,
with the exception of a few acres. As such, it has
given me infinitely less trouble than it would have
done under the old system, and while not requiring
more than a third of the number of men to work it,
it pays me just as well, if not better, than before."
That is to say, with much less anxiety on the land-
lord's part, the estate yielded him as much profit.
But what had become of the men, who for years had
earned a livelihood on the land, as their fathers had
done before them, he did not say. They had to move
oflf, I suppose, to the city, drifting down probably to
{
68 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
the slnmSy or even lower still. Now this gentleman
was a downright, kind-hearted man, and a Christian
of lond profession ; bat he did not see, as he should
have done, I think, that when planning for the easier
management of his farm, he ought, at the same time,
to have considered the welfare of his Workmen.
In pleading the servant's cause, and trying to show
the Duty of the master or mistress, I do not think
I have asked for anything impossible or unreasonable.
Neither have I had money, or the supply of things that
money will buy, exclusively in my mind. In addition
to the supply of the bare necessities of existence,
I have been thinking of the care and the sympathy,
the counsel, and the thousand other things indis-
pensable to the servant's well-being, for which the
master ought to feel some reasonable concern.' Every-
one knows that James the coachman, Mary the
housemaid, or Jones the shoemaker, cannot live by
bread alone; and I have said, and say again, that
every employer is responsible before God for supply-
ing his servants, to the extent of his ability, with
these things.
1. Not to consider and provide for the well-being
of those in your employment, so far as you have
ability, up to the level of this standard, is to place
the servant on as low, or even a lower, level than
the southern planter placed his slaves, or the farmer
places his cattle. Those who act thus make it
evident that they selfishly seek their own interests
without any regard to the interests of those in
their employ.
2. Those who treat their servants in this way ought
\ ^
The Duty of Masters to Servants. 69
to abandon all pretence of regarding men and women
as being brothers and sisters. Their condnct plainly
shows that, in their hearts, they consider that the
accidents of power and money have given them the
right to use their fellows simply for the promotion
of their own selfish interests, without any proper
concern for their well-being.
3. Those who act in this way, fly in the face of
the Divine principle of doing nnto others as yon
wonld that they should do nnto yon. If Smith will
not treat Brown's son as Brown wonld like Smith
to treat his son, were he in his employ, then there
is an end, for ever, of that doctrine, in its bearing
on the Duty which the master owes to the servant.
4. Everyone who acts thus contradicts the principle
of fairness and reciprocity. If a mother wonld like
a nnrse to care for her children, which most mothers
would, then the mother must care for the nurse.
K a husband would like a maid to care for his
wife, wait upon her in health, and watch her in
sickness, then he must show, in some suitable manner,
his consideration for the maid.
If the master would like his employes to give
their whole souls to the promotion of his business,
making that their first concern, and working all hours,
reasonable and unreasonable, for its prosperity, then
he must minister to the welfare of those employes
with the same practical anxiety.
5. Those who act in this way contradict the law
of Love, under which every Christian master is laid,
by his professed obedience to the law of Christ. Paul
asserts, as clearly as possible, that no master has
70 Reugion for Every Day.
any rational claim to be living a life which is pleasing
to his Saviour, if he does not care for the interests
of his servants. Conid he more plainly teach this
than he does when he says : ^^ Masters, give unto
yonr servants that which is jnst and equal ; knowing
that ye also have a Master in Heaven " ?
6. Further, those who act thus, must directly oppose
their own interests, whether those interests lie in
the house, on the ship, in the field, or elsewhere.
Men and women, ordinarily, work from the motives
of fear, or gain, or love. Of these forces, love will
ever be found to be the most powerful. The great
business, then, of a master who has his eye on
securing the largest amount of work from his
servants, is to create this feeling of affection towards
him, and nothing will do this so effectively as fair,
kind, and generous treatment. That will seldom fail.
But are there not difficulties in the way of the
practical working of the doctrine here laid down ?
Of course there are. But no plan for the improve-
ment of mankind can be proposed that is not open
to some objection or other. Let us look at one or
two of these objections.
1. Supposing the circumstances of a master will
not allow him to give his servants such wages, or
to bestow upon them such care, as they manifestly
need — what then ? To this I reply. Let that master
do as well for them as he can. Paul lays down the
rule, ^' It is accepted according to that a man hath,
and not according to that he hath not." The
Apostle here plainly affirms that God does not hold
us responsible for going beyond our ability in the
The Duty of Masters to Servants. 71
discharge of any daty to which we are called. He
will, therefore, be pleased with any master who
does for his servant what lies within his power ; and
if the servant only knows that his master does so,
he will be likely to be satisfied also. Anyway, let
the master act after the fashion of the Captain
whose ship is in difficnlties. When provisions run
short, a tme-hearted Captain will share with the
passengers and crew what food he has, and see to
everyone's safety before his own, and if the ship
goes down, he will be the last to leave her, or
possibly even go down with her. God and man
will approve and admire snch conduct.
2. But is a master to pay his servants more wages
than the valae of their earnings ? To this it may be
replied. If a servant earns more at one time than he
receives, which is not an uncommon occurrence, it
is only fair that the master should pay him more
at another time than he earns ; that is, if he is able.
3. But, it may be asked, ought not servants to
be treated as men and women well able to look after
their own interests, and not as children ? To that
I reply, If they are intelligent men and women, able
to judge and do well for themselves, all that I ask
is that the master should give them the means to
do so ; that is, as far as he has the ability* But if
they are children in intelligence, which is very often
the case, then I demand for them the care which
ignorance and weakness require. We all know that
many servants are sadly wanting in those qualities
that have to do with the direction and management
of their own aflFairs. Especially does this apply to
72 Religion for Every Day.
domestic servants^ whom we often see toiling, morning,
noon, and night, without regard to proper food, or
rest, or clothing, or recreation, or other things that
have to do with the maintenance of their health
and strength. What onght the mistress to do for
such ? Take advantage of their ignorance and good
natnre ? No ; she onght to help and care for them
as she wonld if they were her own children.
73
XII.
The Master in Relation to the Servant*
My Deab Comrades, —
In view of what I have said, it may be asked
whether I advocate that masters and mistresses
should aim at placing their servants on a social level
with themselves. No ; I advocate nothing of the
kind, and that for two reasons.
1. It would be impossible to accomplish it, even
if attempted. The instincts of both servants and
masters would* be against snch an arrangement.
Perhaps, this instinct is nothing more than a pre-
judice. Well, if so, it is there, and its eradication
would be impossible without filling up the social
gulf that at present separates the two classes, and
the distinction necessitates a difference in their
treatment.
2. Servants themselves do not desire such equality.
For instance, they would, a^ a rule, be like fish out
of water if invited to take their meals in the dining-
room with the family, or to pass their evenings in
the drawing-room with the visitors.
I remember spending the best part of two days,
some years ago, with a very amiable family in a
certain Continental City. The gentleman was a
74 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
professional man of high standing, thongh, I am
sorry to say, a prononnced sceptic. The lady was
as kind and gentle as any lady coald be. They
were both Socialists of the individoalistic type, and,
to a certain extent, accepted the doctrine of having
all things in common. In order to act consistently
with their creed, amongst other things, they set aside
a nice little room, well warmed and lighted, where
any poor persons who chose to do so might spend
their evenings free of charge. When I looked in,
however, which my curiosity prompted me to do
every time I passed the door, I did not observe that .
anyone availed themselves of the privilege.
Then the servants were treated as equals with the
family, so far as sitting down to meals and other
familiarities were concerned. How far the gentleman
acted up to his notions in his profession, I am not
able to say. I have no doubt that he was very
kind and generous to all with whom he had dealings,
as it was his nature to be.
But I do not think the efforts made in the direction
of lifting up the servants to a level with the heads
of the household were either very successful or
agreeable to those concerned.
I am sure that I, as a visitor, was much confused
by the arrangement. I could not help feeling that
I ought to treat the lady of the house with more
deference and respect than I did the cook or the
housemaid. Moreover, I got lost again and again
between the servants, the visitors, and the daughters.
Then, if these servants were of the ordinary type
of domestics, which they appeared to be, I am sure
The Master in Relation to Servant. 75
they would have very much preferred taking their
meals and spending their leisure time, in a free and
easy manner, in their own dominions, without the
restraints imposed upon them by the presence of
those who, after all had been said and done, they
could not help feeling were their superiors.
But if a master instructs his employes after this
fashion, will they not be likely to take advantage
of the increased skill they gain thereby, and leave
him when they have the opportunity of securing a
situation with higher wages, or more agreeable condi-
tions, without his reaping any profit from all the
trouble he has bestowed upon them ? Tes, doubtless
many will, and in this he must be content to suffer
for their benefit. Well, if he promotes their interests
by paying more wages, and affording greater facilities
for improvement, he will have a firmer hold on their
gratitude, and be likely to retain them in his employ.
And whether or no, he will have the consciousness
of having done his duty.
I say no more on this subject, however, where so
much might be said, but pass on to have a word on
a matter to which I have, again and again, referred ;
namely, the responsibility of masters and mistresses
for the religions well-being of their servants.
How few mistresses, even where a great profession
of religion is made, feel any real concern for the
spiritual needs of their servants I How few are at the
trouble even to find out whether they are converted,
or to put forth any proportionate effort to secure their
Salvation ! An odd, formal word, now and then, an
enquiry whether they are Church members, a cold
76 Religion for Every Day.
routine of family prayer ; and, as a mie, the mistress
thinks she has fully discharged her dnty.
While, in the workshop, in the factory, on the
wharf, or in the mill, the master only too seldom
stops to enquire whether the people who weave and
work ont his fortune, are the friends or the enemies
of God ; or whether they are on the road to Heaven
or Hell. Indeed, in too many instances they would
be treated very much the same in this respect, if they
had no souls at all.
And yet, what an influence for good, masters and
mistresses might wield, if they chose, over the hearts
and lives and destinies of their servants ! In import-
ance this influence stands next only to that of the
father or mother — nay, it is often felt to be vastly
more potent for good or evil than the parental itself,
for with the influence of the masters and mistresses,
the servants fdel that their earthly interests are
intimately connected. Ought not, therefore, every
possible efibrt to be put forth to use this influence
on behalf of their eternal welfare ?
Some of these things, you will say, do not apply
to you. You are not ladies or gentlemen, or large
employers of labour, and if you were you would not
trample on the health, happiness, and the very life's
blood of your servants in order to climb the ladder of
fortune. Thank high Heaven for that. God forbid
that you ever should.
But some Salvationists who will read these Letters
will have servants, of one kind or another, at their
command. Let me ask such, whether they are really
considering their temporal and eternal interests with
The Master in Relation to Servant. 77
anything like a father's or a mother's heart? Are
yoQ^ my Comrades^ acting towards those whom God
has placed under your care, in the spirit of your
profession ?
Especially do I want to know whether you are
truly endeavouring to secure their Salvation?
You will march up the street and down the street,
and stand in the market-place, seeking to deliver the
soul of the stranger from the enemy, and so you
ought. You will pray, and preach, and fish for the
drunkard or the backslider who may come inside
your Halls, that he may be rescued from sin and
Hell; and so you ought. But what about the boy
who works in your shop, or the girl who is busy
nursing your children, or the woman who is prepar-
ing your food? Are they saved and sanctified?
and if so, do you see to it that, though it be at some
inconvenience to yourself, they have every reasonable
opportunity for increasing their Holiness and exer-
cising their gifts in the Salvation War. I hope so.
If not, make haste and get yourself into line with
your profession, and into harmony with the wishes
of Jesus Christ, your Heavenly Master, and into
agreement with the teachings of your General.
78 Reugion for Every Day.
XIII.
Trade.
My Dbab Comrades, —
Some Salvationists who read this will, donbt-
less, be engaged in Trade, either as shop-keepers,
masters, mechanics, farmers, or some other business
which will devolve upon them the duty of buying
or selling goods of various descriptions. I feel, there-
fore, that I cannot pass by a subject so intimately
connected with their lives. The counsels I propose
to give you shall, as we sometimes say with respect
to our speeches, be " short and to the point'*
My first advice to those whom it may concern, is :
1 . Have nothing to do with any form of Trade on
which you cannot ask the blessing of your Heavenly
Father. That will shut you out from all business
involving injustice, or falsehood, or which cannot be
followed without trespassing upon the welfare of your
fellow-men. God is just, true, and benevolent. You
cannot, therefore, expect Him to give EUs approval
on any Trade or profession that is unjust in its
character, which violates truth in its maintenance,
or which can only succeed by inflicting injury upon
others. You might as well expect Him to bless
Trade. 79
and prosper the work of the Devil as anything of
the kind.
When, therefore, yon are considering a Business
for yourself, or for your children, ask the question,
" Can I buy or sell in this shop, or engage in this
profession, or go about these fields, or manage this
factory, as truly in the spirit of love and faith, as I
can take my place in the Open-air, or stand up and
give my testimony in; the Salvation meeting ? K not,
I will have nothing to do with it."
I know that such a resolution, or the acting upon
it, will, as I have already said, close the door to
many Trades and professions ; some because they
are wrong in themselves, and others because they
are conducted on principles opposed to truth and
righteousness.
In the course of a conversation on this subject,
a gentleman said to me a little time back :
'<I have had considerable experience of business
in various parts of Europe, and exceptional oppor-
tunities for judging the character of the methods
that prevail with those engaged in its direction, and
I have come to the conclusion that there is no Trade
or profession that is not, more or less, dependent
for its prosperity on fraud and falsehood." That
was a sweeping charge, but he was a well-informed
and thoughtful person, and, I should think, a trust-
worthy authority.
Still, I think his opinion must have been an
exaggeration. There are, no doubt, many business
men who, while not claiming to be governed by
religious principles, would scorn anything like wilfdl
80 reugion for Every day.
iDJnstice or falsehood. But then, there are other
tradesmen who, though they do not acquire fortnnes,
like the makers and sellers of intozicantSy by destroy-
ing the bodies and souls of the people, yet live and
thrive by ministering to their weaknesses and vices.
Surely, no Salvationist would like to earn a livelihood
in such a fashion ? Resolve, therefore, I say, that
your business shall be a part of your Salvationism,
and that you will embark in no Trade, whatever gain
it may promise, that will prevent yon being as
religious on Monday as on Sunday, and as prayerful
and believing in your trading transactions as you are
in your Salvation Halls.
2. Be upright in all your transactions. Be straight.
Be truthful; that is, be as good as your word. If
people can rely upon your representations about the
things you sell, they will be pleased to be your
customers. If they find that you are upright, and
do not cheat and deceive them in the work you do,
they will be glad to employ you. If they find that
you are honourable, and do not take advantage of
their ignorance, they will be pleased to deal with
you, and will recommend their neighbours and friends
to do the same. Honesty, in both word and deed,
has usually been found to be the best policy in the
long run ; and if it does not pay as well in this
world, God will see that it pays far better in the next.
What I have said in a previous Letter about doing
good Work, I recommend to the consideration of all
who may be either engaged in business or contemplate
entering upon it. The advice given there simply
amounts to this: "Do the right thing in your
Trade. 81
business transactions, whether it is profitable or other*
wise, and always do it. Do right if the heavens fall.
If yon do right, yon shall prosper. If yon refnse to
do right, though all the inhabitants of earth and
hell swear to the contrary, yon will perish."
K people ask whether your dress-prints will keep
their colour in washing, and you know they will
not, tell them so. If they are buying eatables, or
medicines, thinking they are pure, when yon know
they are not, tell them that the articles are adul-
terated. If yon are selling a horse that has a blemish,
point it out to your customer. You are not under
any obligation to sell the auimal, but you are under
an obligation to do right and keep from sin, and
John tells us that ''All unrighteousness is sin."
What does missing the sale of your horse matter,
because yon will not lie about it, compared with laying
your head upon your pillow with that sin upon your
conscience ? What comfort would any bit of profit
yon made out of the transaction afford you, if, waking
suddenly in the night, you found the bony fingers of
death gathering up your heart strings, and starting
with yon on your journey to the Great White Throne ?
3. Beware of Covetousness. By that I mean not
only the desiring of other people's possessions for
which yon have no lawful claim, but the longing after
wealth, or houses, or lands, or trade, or any other
worldly thing, for its own sake. It cannot be wrong
to desire what are known as the necessaries of life,
either for ourselves, or for those depending on us.
Neither can it be wrong to desire money or position,
so that we may be the better able to help those
6
82 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
whose miseries constitnte their only daim upon onr
assistance. And we are equally sore that it is right
and commendable to desire, with all onr strength,
the graces of God's Holy Spirit. For this we have
the authority of the Apostle, who tells us to ^^ covet
earnestly the best gifts."
But to have food and raiment, and yet be everlast-
ingly yearning after more of the world's treasures,
great or small, is evil, and only evil, and evil con-
tinually. The children exhibit this vice before they
have learned to distinguish good from ill. Give
the babe in its mother's arms one of the two apples
that lie upon the table, which is as much as its
little hand will carry, and it will want the other.
It cares little that its sister desires and has a
right to it. All it knows is, that the apple
looks enticing, and therefore it wants it. That is
Covetousness in the child, although the desire may
not be sinful in itself, seeing the child has not,
as yet, acquired the knowledge of good and evil ;
but when we come to its grown-up brothers and
sisters, we find the same passion, in a much more
hateful and injurious degree. Their knowledge of
right and wrong, in fact, has now made it actually
sinful. Although possessed of the one apple, they
desire the other also, although they know, which
the child does not, that their brothers and sisters,
will suffer, nay, perhaps die, for the want of it.
Beware of Covetousness I God forbids it. He
hates it. " Thou shalt not covet " is one of His ten
commandments.
Beware of Covetousness I It is the fruitful source
Trade. 83
of heart-bamings, strife, starvations, seductions,
adulteries, suicides, murders, and almost every other
form of human wickedness. Among the causes of
these miseries there stands out prominently the
ruinous competitions, and abominable slaveries and
sweatings, so common in our day. '^More business
and more business still," is the cry, even if to get it
we must rob our brother Tradesman of his customers,
and pay less wages in order to produce our goods
at lower prices, and so be able to undersell him.
Then the brother Tradesman, not willing to be
beaten, and determined to keep his business, and even
acquire more, reduces prices again. So the game
of beggar-my-neighbour goes on ; and especially the
game of beggar the poor wretches who have to stitch,
stitch, stitch, grind, grind, grind, from morning to
night, hungry and starving in their beggarly homes.
For this miserable business, Covetousness is largely
responsible. Oh, my Comrades, keep clear of this
evil. Having food and raiment, can you not learn
therewith to be content?
Beware of Covetousness I It makes a hell in
the human breast. Our Lord said : ^^ Blessed are
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled;" that is, satisfied. It
might, with equal truth, be written, "Cursed are
they which do with covetous eyes hunger and thirst
after the gains, the praises, or the treasures, of this
life: for the more of these things they acquire, the
further shall they be from satisfaction."
Covetousness will harden the hearts of those who
indulge in it, destroying all that is kind, generous.
84 Religion for Every Day.
and Godlike in their natures, reducing them to
mere machines, good for nothing but to cry, like
the horse-leech, " Give I Give I Give 1 " feeling all
the time worse rather than better, for what they get.
4. Deal in good and usefid articles. Do not sell
rubbish if you can help it. Carry out the principle
you act upon in your Salvation business. If a man
comes to your Barracks to buy the truth about
God and Sin and Heaven and Hell and Calvary,
you pride yourselves on supplying him with the
unadulterated article. Do your business, my Com-
rades, whatever it may be, on the same principle.
The early Friends — Quakers they were called —
made a great name and piles of money into the
bargain, by selling only superior articles. At one
time — and that not so very long ago, either— if you
wanted clothes, or silks, or linens, or other things of
first-class quality, you were sure of finding them at
establishments kept by members of the Society of
Friends. It is true you had to pay for the article,
but you got the quality for your money — and there
are those who still maintain that good things are
always the cheapest, even if a high price has to be
paid for them. Anyway, the Quakers found the plan
pay handsomely.
Acting on this advice will, I have no doubt, often
be found a little dijBScult. To such extraordinary
lengths has the practice of adulteration been carried,
that not only are buyers very much in the dark as to
what they buy, but sellers also as to what they sell.
Anyway, so far as you can, be frank with your
customers. If the articles are not likely to last for
Trade. 85
ever and a day, yon can, at least, be snre that their
valne is in proportion to the prices charged for them
— ^that is, that the purchasers have their money's
worth.
5. Look after yonr own business. If you want a
thing done well, do it yourself. I think that is a
proverb ; if it is not, it ought to be. In my affiairs, I
am sure I have ever found it to be a safe rule of
action. No matter what Trade a man may embark
in, he should himself understand it, as far as possible,
in all its various details. If not, he will be left to
the judgment of other people, and they may not
always gnide him aright. Therefore, if you do not
buy your own goods, serve your own customers, keep
your own books, manage your own stocktaking, and
do the whole round of your business yourself, see
that you understand how it ought to be done, other-
wise you will certainly be unable efficiently to direct
those you employ to do it on your behalf.
Next to doing your work yourself, with that
interest which you alone are likely to feel in it, is the
importance of seeing that it is done by other people,
and done properly. Some men are a law unto them-
selves. They require no overseer to be ever on their
track to keep them to their duty. Rather are they
like the willing horse, which, instead of needing
whip or spur, has to be held back from going beyond
its strength. And not only does this apply to the
quantity of labour done, but to the doing of it in the
most efficient and profitable manner.
But this class of servants is not too numerous. On
the contrary, there are, I am sorry to say, any ^
86 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
nnmber of people who seem instinctively to waste
their time, shirk their work, or to slur it over, with
little or no interest, or who are, at least, careless
whether it is done well or not. These, for their own
sakes, no less than yonrs, require constant oversight.
If yon will look after them, point ont their short-
comings, and encourage them to the doing of better
things, yon may not only save them from sinking
down to pauperism and vice, but make them into
good servants, or perhaps something higher still in
the social scale.
On the other hand, if you do not carefully look
after your own affairs, and see that your work is done
promptly and well, you can be pretty sure that,
sooner or later, your business will be likely to
collapse.
My advice on this aspect of our subject, then,
amounts to this : Select your business carefolly ;
start with no impossible burden of debt, or rent, or
interest on borrowed money, or heavy salaries, or
anything of the kind. Plan your work with care. Do
as much of it as possible yourself. Choose the best
helpers you can lay your hands upon, and then,
with undying patience, see that your plans are
carried out.
6. Be careful to carry the correct knowledge of
your financial position in your own mind. If you
understand the proper method of keeping accounts,
that will be good, very good — in which case you
must have them under your own eye, if you do not
actually attend to them yourself. If you do not
understand book-keeping, get some reliable person
TRADE. 87
to do the work for yon, and in any event, you most
know where you are financially. Do not live in a
Fool's Paradise, thinking yon are making a living
— or, pe'-haps, a fortune — when all the time you are
going to the bad ; living on your capital, and moving
down the hill which leads to the Bankruptcy Court !
Get to know the facts, keep in touch with them, and
face what is unfavourable before it is too late.
7. Do not be over-sanguine. In the present age,
with its high rents, its Universal Supply Stores —
with all the advertisements and attractions, and
competitions of the great combinations — it is no
easy matter for the individual Tradesman to make
his business pay; and when you come to the Pro-
fessions, very similar difficulties will be experienced.
Therefore, if you want to prosper, go carefully, feel
your way, and act with prudence. Do not make
haste to be rich.
8. Keep your expenses down. It is much easier
to spend money than to make it. I have said
already, that work done by yourself is the cheapest
form of labour. Take an example from agriculture.
A man, and his wife and family, who work their
own place with their own hands, will get a living
out of ten acres, when another man who has to pay
for his labour, will find a difficulty in making ends
meet with five hundred. There is a lesson in this
for all sorts of Tradesmen.
9. Make up your mind to have no debt; at least,
no debt that will either harass you or imperil your
business. If possible do a cash business — that is,
pay cash for your goods, and only sell for ready
88 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
money. I have a high notion of that sort of trading.
Try it. You will find it answer.
10. Beware of purchasing goods yon do not want,
either because they are cheap, or to please those
whose business it is to sell them. If you have not
a ready market for articles that are offered you, do
not take them, however far beneath their supposed
value you may be able to secure them. If you have
goods that are not saleable, get rid of them. Dead
stock — that is, stock that you cannot sell — deterior-
ates rapidly in value. Tastes and fashions are ever
changing ; and even were that not so, the goods
spoil as they lie upon your shelves. This applies
to almost every kind of commodity in the market.
11. If you keep assistants, deal wisely and kindly
with them. Do so even with the boy that sweeps
the shop or takes down the shutters.
(a) Endeavour to attach your work people to you.
If they care for you and your concern, your interest
will be theirs, and they will work for you more
earnestly and efficiently than they otherwise would,
and that with greater self-denial and for longer
hours. Nothing can very well exceed the folly
exhibited by many masters in the domineering, slave-
driving, niggardly manner with which they treat
their servants. These employes either have hearts,
or they have not. If they are destitute of that organ
— well, then, it will be quite consistent for their
masters to treat them as machines ; but if they
have hearts, why not deal with them accordingly?
They must do their work, and you must see that
they do it, as we have already shown; but every
Trade. 89
direction given and inspection made should be done
in a spirit that will be likely to increase the interest
they feel in yon, instead of the contrary.
The old-fashioned class of servant, who spent his
energies and years, and even laid down his life for
his master, or his master's family, seems to be fast
dying out ; but, greatly to your own interest and
their benefit, you can create more members of the
same fraternity.
(i) Attach them by helping them to improve them-
selves. Give them every opportunity within your
power for learning the bnsiness, whatever it may be.
{c) Encourage them. Beware of finding fault until
they lose heart and give np in despair.
{d) Devolve responsibility upon them as rapidly
as they are able to bear it. There is nothing that
develops ability, improves character, arouses ambition,
and generally sets a man on to do the best he can
for himself and those to whom he is accountable,
like responsibility for the discharge of some particular
duty, the doing of which creditably will bring him
praise, while the opposite will bring him blame.
{e) Make your helpers sharers in your prosperity ;
that is, let them benefit by your business, in pro-
portion to its profitableness. This will, naturally,
make them more desirous than they otherwise would
be, for profits to divide, and lead them out to more
strenuous and self-denying effort for their increase.
12. Give to God the right and due proportion of
your income. In all the arrangements you make
about your business, in all your plans for disposing
of the profits you may obtain, be careful not to leave
90 Reugion for Every Day.
God out of your calculations. Do not attempt the
experiment of dispensing with Him, unless you desire
either the prosperity or the adversity that may
attend your effort to prove your ruin. If a man
lose his soul as the result of his trading, it does not
matter very much whether the ruin be brought about
by either one or the other. Therefore I say, " Do not
leave God out 1 "
You must not only ask for His blessing, and
conduct your affairs in harmony with the principles
He has laid down, but give Him His share of the
gains. Pay Him His due, and pay Him not merely
in empty thanks and praises and adorations, nor
even by asking Him to save your soul from wicked-
ness here, and from Hell hereafter — all that is very
good and beautiful and necessary for you— but some-
thing more than that is required if you are, in only
a very limited degree, to discharge the obligation
under which you are laid to Him for the services
you expect Him to render you. No, you must,
among other methods, pay your debts in that form
which is the most acceptable and appropriate to the
occasion — that is, by giving Him a fair share of your
profits.
If the principle is right, that each party should
share the profits of a business according to the amount
of capital or labour they put into it, what about God ?
Why not deal with Him on that principle? How
would you get on without Him ?
I will suppose that you are a farmer, and that you
plough and sow and harrow, and do all that agri-
cultural skill can devise. Can you expect to reap
TRADE. 91
unless Ood does His share? Unless fle makes His
snn to shine, and His rain to fall, and His dew to
distil, and by His magical chemistry brings the
needed nourishment out of land and air, all your
efforts will utterly fail.
Suppose that you are a Tradesman, with a shop,
or a factory, or something else of the same class, and
that, early and late, you study and toil with all the
ingenuity you can acquire. Where will you be in your
profits unless He give health, and vigour, and brain
power, and all the other sorts of power that you
need?
I will tell you where you will be. Instead of
making profits to put into the bank, you will more
likely be in the Bankruptcy Court. But if God does
these things for you, you will not only gain a liveli-
hood, but there will be something on the right side
of the balance-sheet. Therefore, on the bare ground
of what is right and fair, make up your mind before
you start your concern, or, if you have started it
without such a resolution, decide now that God has
a right to a share in your gains, and that He shall
have His due.
But what shall that proportion be? That is a
very interesting question. Oh, if we could only
get it intelligently and satisfactorily settled by all
Salvationists, and then carried out in actual practice,
what a gain it would be to The Army, and what a
blessing to the world 1
Can we do anything towards effecting such a
settlement ? In the enquiry, we may learn something
from God's instructions, given directly to the Jews
92 Reugion for Every Day,
npon this sabject. Here was a yoong people, stand-
ing in a very similar relation to Him and to the
world to that in which The Salvation Army stands
to-day. God wanted to mould that people, according
to His own notions, in the same way as, I believe,
He wants to fashion ns. His desire was, to make
them a people after His own heart. It is, therefore,
fair to assume that the laws He laid down for their
guidance, on the duty of giving, in the early days of
their history, express His wishes with respect to ns
in our days. We read in Leviticus that He com-
manded them to give Him a tenth of their income
and possessions. Hear what He says to Moses :
" And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock,
even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth
shall be holy unto the Lord;" that is, they were
to set aside, for the public service of God, at least
a tenth, not only of their income, but of their
possessions.
I know that this method of giving is sometimes
styled cold and legal. It is said to belong to the
Old Dispensation, and to have been very well for the
Jews, but that it is not applicable to the followers
of Jesus Christ. It is thought to be only adapted
to the servants, and not to the sons and the daughters
of God. The servant, it is said, may be content with
giving a tenth, but the sons and daughters will be
satisfied with giving nothing less than all. This
view is a forcible one, and in support of it various
passages of Scripture are quoted, such as " Present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service." " Ye are not
Trade. 93
yonr own. For ye are bought with a price ; therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which
are God's.*'
These passages teach what every true lover of God
feels to be gloriously true, that His Lord and Saviour
is infinitely worthy of all that he possesses, and ought
to have all. A just survey of His goodness to us in
creation, in preservation, in government, and in
redemption, must compel the conviction contained
in the song we so often sing :
" Were the whole realm of natut/re miney
That were a present fa/r too small ;
Love 80 amazing^ so divine^
ShaU ha/ve my soul, my life, my all"
This is all true — beautifully, eternally true — but
the plan of giving Him a settled, definite portion
does not interfere with the duty of giving more.
Indeed, it does not in any way hinder us from giving
Him all.
Still, it may be answered, that it furnishes a
stopping-place for benevolence. May not a man rest
satisfied with contributing a tenth, and not feel the
responsibility of going further ? Yes, the plan may
be abused in this respect, but it may also act just
in the opposite direction, and may also educate him
in a more generous application of the principle which
every son and servant of God must accept, that all
he has belongs to God, and ought to be used for
His glory.
But are not those who favour the notion of giving
a fixed sum, also in danger of being led astray ?
94 Reugion for Every Day.
To begin with, is there not a danger of it resulting,
too often, in nothing more than mere sentimentalism ?
I once knew a gentleman — and he is only an
example of a large number of the same class of
people who have come under my observation— who was
ever harping on the single string that ^'all he had
was given to God/* and yet he died leaving his
fiimily a fortune of nearly half-a-million of money.
Will not all sorts of difficulties be experienced
by a plain, simple man who wants to reduce it to
practice ? For instance, take a man who has a wife
and five children, with an income of thirty shillings
a week. K he, literally, acts upon this principle, he
will put the whole thirty shillings into the collection,
and have nothing left for the feeding, clothing,
housing, and all the other needs of his family,
although caring for these must be his first duty.
This method he will soon feel to be a mistaken one,
and that of a most serious character, and therefore
will abandon it. Well, then, let it be assumed that
he retains what, he feels, in his judgment, to be
necessary for their support. In the latter case the
giving of his all to God will come to a sudden
conclusion.
No ; I say, fix your standard of giving at what
you conscientiously feel to be a reasonable proportion
of your income. Begin, we will say, where God
instructed Moses and His followers to begin — and
they were poor enough in all conscience I Lay aside
a tenth of what you ascertain your income to be,
and give that to Gh>d. That rule will not prevent
your going ahead of that amount The Jew went
Trade. 95
far beyond it, for, in addition to the tenth he con-
tributedy he had collections and donations without
nnmber.
Yon might work ont this rule on a graduated
scale, beginning at the bottom with the tenth,
and going on increasing the proportion as God
increases your income. From a tenth yon can
rise to an eighth, and then to a fifth, and a fourth,
and even further. Make His glory your joy, your
conscience, your guide, and the Salvation of men,
for time and eternity, the supreme object for
which you live and trade and do everything else,
and yon will not go astray on this subject.
96 REUGION for EVERY DAY,
XIV.
On Qothes*
My Dear Comradbs, —
Man has been described by some one as ^^a
Clothes-wearing animal." It conld not be intended^
by that expression, that he is the only animal that
wears clothes, for there are few creatures that walk
the earth around him, or dwell in the sea beneath
him, that are not as usefully and as becomingly clad
as he is — most of them much more so. Still, he is the
only creature on this planet who has any choice in
the character of his outer covering, or in the manner
of putting it on and taking it off, which things I
suppose, taken together, do constitute a Clothes- wearer
in the sense that animals generally are not.
Clothes may, from their all but universal use, be
considered as an absolute necessity to our race.
There are few people, even of those nations counted
most barbarous, that do not affect some kind of
apparel, however simple and crude it may be. The
purposes served by the Clothes- wearing habit are
of a very varied character. To begin with :
1. Clothes may be regarded as a mark of civilisa-
tion. The fact that any tribe, of any race, found
in any part of the globe, not wearing Clothes, is
On Clothes. 97
considered to be a proof of their savage state, pnre and
simple. One of the first things by which converts
to civilisation express the change that has transpired,
whether in the forests of Africa, the jangles of India,
or elsewhere, is to get into some form or other of dress.
Indeed, many of these Aborigines measnre the height
to which they have risen in the scale of civilisation,
by the quantity and costliness, to say nothing of the
ridicnlous fashions, of the Clothes they are able to
carry about with them. Something of the same kind
often follows the Salvation of the lowest and most
vicions outcasts. One of the immediate results of
their coming to Christ is their appearance in decent
clothing ; and it is wonderful too, how the most
degraded can and do fix themselves up within a few
hours. Literally, they are soon found, like the man
in the Gospel, " Sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed,
and in their right mind."
2. Clothes safeguard and promote proper feelings
of decency. They are essential to modesty and
chastity, in the present condition of human life. Of
course. Clothes can be so shaped, and so worn, and,
alas I they often are, as to have the very opposite
effect. The tendency of a good deal of dressing, in
these days, is, beyond question, strongly in that
direction. A great many of the fashions that prevail
in what is known as " society," are, I think, more
suggestive of indecent thoughts and feelings than is
the semi-nudity of the native races that range the
trackless forests of Darkest Africa, or of the lower
castes who dwell in the cities and villages of India.
Whether or not Clothes were worn before the Fall,
7
98 Reugion for Every Day.
is a controverted qaestioii, upon which I will not
enter ; but if they were not instituted before that
event, they became a necessity for the maintenance
of right and pure feelings immediately afterwards.
3. Clothes serve as a protection from the conse-
quences of those changes in the weather, which are
so unfavourable to health and vigour. The animals,
as a rule, are made for one climate only ; hence, one
kind of dress, with the little variation required by the
succession of the seasons, serves their purpose. But,
having to pass from country to country, man needs
many changes of covering. If he is to live, in any
reasonable comfort, under the burning suns of the
tropics at one time ; on the fringes of the North
Pole at another ; and midway between them both
at another, he must be able to change and adapt
his outer garments to each.
4. Clothes are useful for signifying social dis-
tinctions. There are differences in the positions,
duties, and powers of mankind. Some object to these
differences, and contend that all men ought to be on
one level. But at present it is not so. Indeed, it is
just the reverse, and society being constituted with
these distinctions, it seems to be very desirable
that we should, with the least possible trouble, be
able to discover what the position and condition of
those around us may be. Clothes are useful for this
purpose. They serve :
(a) To mark out the caste or position of individuals.
You can form some opinion as to the position, occupa-
tion, and general circumstances of those you meet,
but do not know, by the Clothes they wear. This
On Clothes. 99
is nsefol, and, while it is often abased, tends to
maintain the proper order and distinctions which
are necessary for the conduct of business and the
relations between the sexes.
{b) Clothes serve to distinguish the servant from
his master, the maid from her mistress, one trade
from another, and mark out those placed in lawful
authority over us. You do not want anyone to
instruct you whether a man is a policeman, a soldier,
a sailor, or a Salvation Army Officer ; and when you
go into a Court of Justice, neither friend nor usher is
needed to tell you which is the Counsel, or which is
the Judge. Their Clothes impart the information.
Just so, Clothes mark out the rank of Officers in the
Armies and Navies of the world. Officials engaged
in State functions, and other persons of distinguished
condition.
Salvationists are Clothes-wearers. We are great
at Clothes — indeed, we have a style of dress that
we call Uniform, which, in style and appearance, is
all our own. We reckon that this dress saves us
from certain serious evils, and serves several very
usefrU purposes.
1. Uniform is a public witness to our Lord, an
avowal of our devotion to His cause, and of our
willingness that all the world should know the fact.
2. It is an open declaration of the renunciation of
evil, and of our determination to be out and out for
God, and to live and die for the Salvation of men.
3. Uniform makes opportunities for usefulness.
By it men can recognise the Salvationist as the
servant and messenger of God, and are often led to
100 Reugion for Every Day.
converse with him. If the Unifonn does occasionally
lead those who hate religion to indulge in ridicale,
it will, at the same time, afford the wearer an oppor-
tunity of proclaiming to them the mercy of God
through Jesas Christ.
But necessary and useful as the Clothes-wearing
habit may be, like other things that are good in them-
selves, it can be so far abused as to be the means
of doing much harm. This is just what has happened ;
and the material, shape, and general character of
Clothes have become sources of temptation to a large
part of the human race. Indeed, they can be counted
on as among the most fruitful causes of evil with
which poor human nature has to battle.
For instance, Clothes may easily become the means
of fostering and feeding the pride and vanity of the
human heart. Introduced in consequence of the sin
of our first parents, and on that account to be re-
garded as being really marks of disgrace, it is curious
to contemplate the extent to which they have come
to be gloried in by their posterity.
It is not probable that Clothes were originally
intended to disfigure or be out of harmony with the
human form. On the contrary, it is perfectly natural
to suppose the opposite. But that in the present
day they should have come to foster the vanity,
occupy the time, and involve the foolish expenditure
of energy and money that we see around us, is one
of the most convincing evidences the human race
affords of the fact, that man is, indeed, a fallen
creature. What scandalous waste and misery result,
for instance, from the ambitious rage of one set of
On Clothes. loi
people to be as finely dressed, or, if possible, more
finely dressed, than another ! What a mockery and a
farce, in the eyes of the Angels, the religion of many
professing Christians mast appear, when they are
seen in their places of worship bedizened with every
conceivable form of worldly fashion, ostensibly wor-
shipping the God who has pronounced some of His
most biting denunciations npon their adornments !
^^ In that day the Lord wiU take away the bravery of iheir
tirMing orrumienta about their feet, and their cards, a/nd
their round tires like the moon,
" The chains, a/nd the bracelets, and the mufflers,
" The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the
headbands, and the tablets, a/nd the earrings^
" The rings, and nose jewels,
'' The chamgeahle suits of apparel, and the mantles, and
the wimples, and the crisping pins,
'^ The glasses, a/nd the fine linen, a/nd the hoods, a/nd the
veils,
^^ And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell
there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and
instead of well-set hair baldness; and instead of a sUmiacher
a girding of sackcloth ; and bu/ming instead of beauty"
The Army Uniform saves those who adopt it from all
this, while, at the same time, it enables them to make
a good and modest appearance at an immeasurably
less cost than the fashionable world around them.
As I said at the beginning of this Letter, the
Uniform is a preacher. It makes people think about
God and Godliness. If it is right for the Salvationist
to proclaim Salvation from sin and separation from
the world, with his tongue, it cannot be wrong for
him to declare it by his dress.
102 Reugion for Every Day.
XV.
On Food.
My Dear Comrades, —
Eating and drinking have so mnch to do with
the comfort, health, and nsefolness of most people,
whether in youth, manhood, or old age, that I cannot
pass the subject by without offering some suggestions
with respect to it, however imperfect they may be.
If it is suggested that Religion cannot be brought
down to the doings of the table without affecting
its dignity, I shall reply in the words of the Apostle
Paul, " Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, or what-
soever ye do, do all to the glory of Gtod." That is,
every meal of which we partake should be a Sacra-
ment, and every action we perform a part of our
Religion.
To help my readers to bring their Salvationism to
bear upon such ordinary and yet necessary occupations
as eating their breakfasts, dinners, teas, and the like,
is my purpose in this Letter. I am, I must confess,
not a little doubtful as to the success that may attend
my effort, but I will do my duty, and leave you, my
Comrades, to judge of its value and utility.
1. Eating and drinking are closely associated with
On Food. 103
the ability to think. Every intelligent man knows
that Food, nnsnitable in quantity or quality, or taken
at unsuitable times, has a bad e£fect upon his brain.
It clips the wings of imagination, dulls the perception,
darkens memory, depresses the spirits, and clothes
the fiiture with gloom. Many a bad speech, and
bad bargain too, has come of what is often called a
good dinner,
2. A man^s Food has much to do with the exercise
of his gifts. It a£fects his ability to sing, to pray,
to reason, to talk, or to lead. A hearty meal of
the plainest fare, or a very small quantity of richer
food, will often clothe my soul with torpor, make my
brain feel like a log of wood, and render speaking
or writing a positive torture. I have no doubt that
it is so, more or less, with numbers of other speakers,
some of these being either ignorant of the fact, or
too fond of the knife-and-fork business to curb their
appetites for the sake of the profitable discharge of
their duty.
3. Eating and drinking have much to do with the
shortening of many people's lives. Drunkenness is
charged with the destruction of an enormous number
of victims, but I very much question whether more
people do not die from over-eating than from over-
drinking. I have made that remark again and again
in the presence of physicians of eminence, but not
one of them has ever called its accuracy in question.
On the contrary, the majority have openly assented
to it.
4. Eating and drinking have great influence on our
spiritual experiences — oftentimes a closer connection
104 Reugion for Every Day.
with them than some of onr Bible Readings^ Prayer
Meetings, onr Holiness Stndies, and the like. I say
this withont any wish to depreciate the yalne
of those nseful exercises. Many a good sonl goes
into the darkness of nnbelief and low spirits simply
through eating more food than is necessary. Self-
indnlgence in this respect is the enemy of both faith
and prayer, and no doubt this is the reason that
the Bible, and especially Jesns Christ, so often couple
prayer and fasting together. Every man who really
desires to walk and talk with God must be moderate
and abstemious in his diet.
What, then, can I advise you on the question of
your Food ? First of all, I say :
1 . Make a conscience of the matter. What a number
of individuals I have known, during my lifetime, who,
though they would not on any account sin against
their neighbour by injuring his person, will regularly
sin against their own bodies by eating and drinking
what they know will injure them 1
But it is asked, " What must we eat and drink ? "
This question might be preceded by another, of equal
or still greater importance, and that is, ^^ What shall
we avoid ? " I answer :
2. Do not take any intoxicants. I need not say
this to Salvationists, for I am sure they could not
drink the liquor in any shape or form that brings so
much sin and misery to the world, even if there were
no prohibitory rule on the question. Nor need I give
any reasons for offering the same advice to anybody
else ; and yet I will call your attention to two or
three.
On Food. 105
(a) You will not be any healthier or stronger for
using intoxicating drinks.
(&) Ton may be a great deal worse for taking them,
seeing that, even though yon take them in moderation,
they may lead yon on to excessive drinking.
{c) If yon take your intoxicants in moderation
yourselves, your children, or those about you may,
through your example, or through partaking of them
at your table, contract that appetite for the drunkard^s
drink which will carry them to the drunkard's grave,
and the drunkard's Hell. I remember hearing of a
young man, who died a drunkard's death in great agony,
who said that he acquired the taste for brandy by
draining the glasses that came from his grandfather's
table.
3. There must be no Tobacco in any form, whether
smoked, snuffed, or chewed.
4. There must be no Opiates, whether in drops,
drafts, pills, or pipe.
5. There must be no Sweetmeats ; that is, as a
habit for adults. The little children and the boys
and girls may have a few chocolates, and the like,
now and then, but men and women should put
such childish things away.
6. There must be no Pickles or other fancy
Condiments ; or, at any rate, as few as possible.
7. There should be nothing that will disagree with
you, however palatable, or strongly recommended, or
however common its use may be by those around
you, which you have reason to believe will not
agree with you afterwards.
Let me look for a moment at what may be taken.
106 Religion for Every Day.
1. Coffee, Tea, Cocoa, or other hot drinks, may he
used in strict moderation. Tea is, in my opinion, the
safest of the catalogue, and will he foand adapted to
the largest numher of constitutions. Bnt that, I say,
only in moderation. Many well-meaning people have
mined their health hy foolish and excessive tea-
drinking. They are tea-dmnkards.
2. Animal food should not be taken, at most, more
than once a day. There are mnltitndes of men and
women who would be wiser, healthier, happier, and
holier without meat altogether. I recommend every-
body who has not made the experiment of total
abstinence from flesh meat in every form to do so at
once. Give it a month's trial.
The quantity of food has almost as much to do
with health as the quality. Instead of everlastingly
finding fault with the food, it would be a good plan
if the people who suffer from indigestion, headaches,
and the like would only see how they got along with
one half, or even a fourth, of the quantity usually
taken.
There are few subjects on which greater delusions
prevail than the amount of Food that is necessary to
maintain life in health and vigour. ^^ Ton must eat
more," is the common counsel to the invalid. ^^ The
brain must be fed ; the nervous energy must be fed ;
the whole system must be fed. Tou cannot get on
without a liberal supply of good, nourishing food."
And so people eat and eat, and still eat more and
more, till poor overtaxed nature breaks down, and
health is lost for ever.
The question turns, then, on what is good, nourish-
On Food. 107
ing Food, and what constitntes a sulScient supply
of it. There is an illustration I often give which, I
think, settles the matter. Anyway, it does to my
satisfaction. When a honse is building, an adequate
supply of the various kinds of materials of which it
is being constructed must be furnished. Quantities
of bricks and tiinber, and stones and slates, and lime
and lead, and I know not what else, must be brought
along day by day. They will all be wanted for the
foundations, the walls, the floors, the roofs, and the
other parts of the building. But when the house is
finished, painted, papered, and completed in every
respect, all that will be needed will be the material
necessary to meet the wear and tear of it from time
to time.
Even so with the earthly tabernacle in which for
a season we are called to dwell. From infancy up
to maturity — while the house is building — considerably
larger supplies of Food are required than are needed
later on, although the feeding of children can be
overdone, and gormandising habits created, that
will curse the man or the woman of the future. If
the Food is simple and substantial the children should
have as much of it as their healthy appetities crave.
Bone and sinew, and muscle and nerve, and brain,
and all the other wonderful substances, which together
constitute the human edifice, have to be made.
But when the man has reached his full growth,
all that is required in this house, as in the other,
will be sufiScient material to meet the wear and
tear, that is the waste, which is constantly taking
place.
108 Religion for Every Day.
It is said, however, that, unlike the habitations
built of wood and stone, this hoase of flesh ought
to entirely renew itself every seven years. Be that
as it may, I hardly see that the argument affords
a good excuse for extravagant eating, seeing that
half an ounce of suitable Food extra over the amount
required to feed the working force of the day, will
fiirnish sulScient material to entirely remake a man
of twenty stone weight during the seven years the
process is in progress.
In eating remember, then, that Nature requires
only a certain quantity of support, and that having
extracted that amount from the Food supplied her,
she rejects the remainder. It follows, therefore, that
only that particular quantity of nourishment which
is turned to good account is of any real benefit to
the system. All over and beyond this, only neces-
sitates so much extra work and fatigue for the
organs that have to get rid of the surplus. That
extra labour produces indigestion which invariably
leads to lassitude, and then to almost every other
disease to which the human system is subject.
'^But what about a good appetite? Is not that
an indication of the quantity of Food nature needs ? "
" Yes ; perhaps it is in a perfectly healthy individual,
but in an unhealthy individual it' is frequently the
opposite. The amount of Food a man takes is usually
a mere question of habit. Because he takes more
than he requires one day he fancies he requires the
same amount the next. The day after he not only
takes the little that was beyond the need of the day
before, but a little extra still. And so he goes on
On Food. 109
taking a little more than is required, and a little
more, the appetite increasing aU the time nntil it
becomes a positive disease.
The endless variety in Food, the diflferent ways
in which it is served np, together with the namberless
appetising things taken with it, snch as pickles,
relishes, seasonings, sauces, and the like, all lead
people to eat more than is good for them.
I reconamend you to throw the modern fanciful
methods of cooking overboard, spread your table
with Food prepared after a simple fashion, and your
appetite will soon prove itself a safe and agreeable
guide. In other words, bring your palate to your
Food instead of your Food to your palate ; but even
then appetite will want watching, and the advice of
the Apostle be found essential to health and well-
being, " Let your moderation be known unto all men."
If the question is asked as to the best time for
meals, I should say you must eat at regular intervals,
and those times not too near together. The system
of taking four substantial meals per day — breakfast,
dinner, tea, and supper — with bits and bites between,
that so commonly prevails with the Britisher, must
be woefully injurious. The three square meals of
the American, consisting of breakfast taken at eight
o'clock, dinner at one, tea at six, and nothing after,
is preferable to that. The French plan, of a piece
of bread and butter and a cup of coffee on rising
(which is usually early) a luncheon at twelve, ^.nd
a dinner at six, is, I think, the most preferable of
the three. Indeed, it is an open question whether
we should not all of us be better for giving the
110 Reugion for Every Day.
stomach a complete rest daring the early hoars
of the day. " Woe," said the wise man, " to thee,
land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes
eat in the morning I "
If a man discovers how mach Food he really
requires, and rigidly confines himself to that qaantity,
1 do not, however, think the hoar of the day when
it is taken is of the first importance. Natare will
deal with it satisfactorily.
To assist the process of digestion. Food shoald be
taken slowly. One reason for the long and vigorous
life of Mr. Gladstone is said to have been the care
with which he masticated his Food. It is reported —
whether correctly or not, I do not know — ^that he
gave thirty-two chews to every separate piece of Food
he put into his month I
Bat, however that may be, there can be no question
that a great many people do eat too rapidly. The
food disappears off their plates like magic. Nervous
people, full of energy and plans and work, or when
occupied with an interesting conversation, are very
apt to fall into this snare. Carried away by their
thoughts and feelings, they forget for the moment,
all their good notions about mastication, and so by
their very energy in taking it, they effectually defeat
the object for which their Food is taken.
Anatomists tell us that, to be of the greatest benefit
to the system, Food must be pulled to pieces,
and completely ground up by the teeth. It must
be thoroughly chewed, and that for the following
reasons : —
1. It lessens the labour of the digestive organs
ON FOOD. Ill
which have to reduce the Food to a pulp, daring the
first stage of the process of makiDg it into blood and
bone and mnscle. When the daty of mastication
is neglected, or only discharged imperfectly, the
amount of work imposed on the stomach is doubled
or trebled, and, consequently, the task is not so well
done.
2. In chewing the Food, a certain fluid, essential
to the work of digestion, is poured forth from what
are called the salivary glands. Thorough mastication
not only secures a sulScient amount of this fluid, bat
properly mixes it with the Food, thus assisting the
process of digestion still further. To eat slowly and
careftilly is, therefore, necessary. It is better to take
liquids after eating the solid food. They should not
be mixed together in the mouth. If the liquid unites
with the dry Food there is much less chance of the
important fluid to which I have just referred being
added in sufficient quantity.
112 Reugion for Every Day,
XVI.
Sleep.
My Dear Comrades, —
It is said that every machine — ^nay, that every-
thing made by hnman hands, or born of human
ingenuity — must, if it is to do its work well, have
rest for certain periods and at regular intervals.
At any rate, it is so with the human machine, and
God, in His wisdom, has arranged that this rest
should be found in our daily Sleep. Without it
strength quickly decays, reason leaves her throne,
life languishes and presently expires. Sleep is a
necessity.
Every man should endeavour to secure that amount
of " Nature's sweet restorer,'* that very Sleep, which
his system requires. Some people find it difficult
to Sleep when the appointed hour comes round. Let
me give them a little advice on the subject.
1. As you would not desire to take the spirit of
nightmare with you to bed, do not indulge in a
heavy supper. I have already said that some kind
of refreshment, at the close of the day's work, may,
now and then, be a necessity with Salvationists ; but
they should, if possible, avoid anything like a serious
meal for an hour or two before the time to retire.
Sleep. 113
2. Keep a clear conscience. No man should go
to his rest under condemnation. If any living soul
has sinned against him, he should forgive; and if
he has sinned against any living soul, he should,
if it be possible, secure the forgiveness of that soul
before he sleeps. Most important of all, he should
have a clear witness that all his sins against God
have been blotted out. Paul's experience is good
for all times, and especially for your sleeping pillow ;
listen to him, " Herein do I exercise myself, to have
always a conscience void of offence toward God and
toward men."
3. Commit yourself to the care of God, and obtain
the distinct assurance that He has you in His holy
keeping, before settling yourself to slumber. Sleep
is one of His gifts. Touch the hem of His garment
before you close your eyes.
4. Refuse to allow your thoughts to be occupied
with any unpleasant experiences through which you
may be passing at the time. Exercise your will,
and, so far as you can do so, banish them from your
mind before you fall asleep, and refuse them admission
during any of the wakeful hours that may follow.
Happy the man or the woman who can close their
bedroom door against the perplexing and painful
difficulties with which they may have been con-
tending during working hours 1 " Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof." Anyway, try to shut
it out of your chamber during the night.
5. If engaged in close and confining forms of
employment, such as sitting in an office, or in a
workroom, take, if possible, some exercise that will
114 Religion for Every Day.
more or less tire the whole body. A reasoDable
amoant of exertion in the open air is a yalnable
health preserver to tens of thousands of our people.
I verily believe those of our Soldiers who are faithful
to their Open-air duties, live longer, in consequence,
than those who neglect them. Weariness is always
the most friendly aid to Sleep.
6. Choose some agreeable and profitable subject on
which to meditate as you lay yourself down. The
run of your latest waking thoughts and feelings will
be likely to colour your dreams and visions, if you
have any ; and, beyond question. Sleep will come more
readily, and be more healthy and restfal, if you enter
upon it in a pleasant and peaceful state of mind.
7. While securing sufficient Sleep, beware of taking
more than is required. Here, again, we must be
careful not to err. Everyone is, I suppose, familiar
with the old rule, " Seven hours for a man, eight for
a woman, and nine for a fool." It is a good rule.
For certain highly-strung nervous natures, who lavishly
pour out their feelings and energies in their work, it
will, no doabt, be difficult to take too much Sleep ; but
even here, the old adage applies, '^ Enough is as good
as a feast." Too long a period spent in bed is cal-
culated to weaken rather than to strengthen the sys-
tem. But while Early Rising imparts life and energy
to some natures, it weakens, if it does not actually
incapacitate, others. Every man must deal con-
scientiously with himself on this question ; and while
Salvationists must beware of getting too much Sleep,
they must be equally careful to get sufficient. This
applies especially to the more anxious among them.
115
xvn.
Personal Qeanliness«
My Deab Comradbs, —
In the Letter devoted to the consideration
of Home, yon will remember that I said something
abont the desirability of a clean honse, clean fnrnitnre,
and, as far as possible, of everything else within its
walls being clean. Bnt I only allnded very slightly
to the most important item of all, the Cleanliness
of the inmates I Perhaps this wonld be a convenient
moment in onr discussion of Eeligion for Every Day
to make a remark or two on that subject.
Unhappily, some people do not attach very much
importance to a clean body. They will paiot their
faces, cover themselves with showy garments and
with falderals and jewellery, while all the time
their bodies are unwashed and otherwise defiled
from head to foot. Some Salvationists are not, I
am sorry to say, altogether free from blame in this
respect. Although they may not pay quite so much
attention to the outside of the platter, they are sadly
wanting in care for what is far more important.
This should not be. The Apostle Paul is very
defijiite on the subject, not only commanding that
the heart should be purified from evil, but distinctly
118 Reugion for every Day.
If anyone wants to know what can be done, in
the way of Cleanliness, with a tub of warm water
and the will to be clean, let them go into some of
the coal districts, and learn what the colliers can
do in this respect.
By the same method many of yon can take a
cold bath every morning. In winter it should not
be quite cold.
A Lamp Bath, as described in the Appendix,
is a very simple and nseftil bath, and may be
taken once a week, at a trifling cost. It not
only serves to open and cleanse the pores, thus
promoting the Cleanliness I am advocating, but
refreshes and invigorates the whole system.
A Turkish Bath now and then will be found useful
to those who can afford it. This kind of bath has
grown quite popular of late, and may be had in the
evenings, in many of the principal towns, at a low
price. But for the promotion of Cleanliness, a good
Lamp Bath is almost as usefal, is more economical,
will occupy less time, and can be taken in your own
room, and at the hour that may be found most
convenient. The bath can be given as described in
the Appendix.
119
xvni.
G)nversation*
My Deab Combadbs, —
In considering Eeligion for Every Day, 1
cannot pass by the subject of Conversation, seeing
that it has so much to do with the intelligence,
comfort, and usefulness of Salvationists.
By Conversation, everyone will know that I mean
that interchange of thought and feeling between
individuals which is effected by means of Speech.
Conversation, in one form or another, is, we can
readily imagine, a privilege common to all living
creatures. We know that the great Father in
Heaven holds some sort of high intercourse with the
holy beings by whom He is surrounded ; and we
have reason to believe that He does this through the
medium of some celestial language. The Arch-
angels and Angels, the Seraphim and Cherubim,
and other of the inhabitants of Heaven, we are ex-
pressly informed, bow before His face, and cry, " Holy,
holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty." The Bible
contains the record of many Conversations that have
taken place between God and His people on the
earthy in the past. Indeed, the Sacred Book is full
120 Reugion for Every Day,
of messages from Jehovah to men, commencing with,
" Thus saith the Lord," and of prayers and thanks-
givings addressed back to God. All snch communi-
cation is of the nature of Conversation — God speaking
to man, and man speaking to God.
Then we can be quite sure that the Angels talk
with each other. The sins and sorrows of our poor
world, together with the unremitting and self-sacri-
ficing efforts God is continually making for its
Salvation, must be a theme of unceasing interest and
a topic of untiring Conversation to all the inhabitants
of the Celestial World.
And who can doubt that in Hell the Devils talk
over their infernal schemes for the destruction of
souls, and recount to each other the progress they
make in giving them eflfect? Ah, my Godl there
is no lack of interesting matter both for reflection
and Conversation there I
The various species of the brute creation also have,
beyond question, some means of conveying the feelings
they entertain towards each other, that answers to
what we call Conversation. Many animals have the
ability to think, if not reason. The habits of the ant,
the bee, the dog, the horse, the eagle, and of many
other creatures, furnish ample evidence of this.
Animals are often capable of aflfection; they love
their kindred and comrades, and sometimes show a
remarkable devotion to man. Some animals seem
even to possess an instinct which answers to con-
science — that is, the ability to discern the difference
between a right and wrong course of action. If,
then, animals have gifts of thought, of affection, and
Conversation. 121
conscience, is it unreasonable to assume that they also
possess some means of communicating their ideas
and feelings to each other, however inferior the
method of doing so may be to that with which man
is endowed?
The ability for Conversation is developed in man
very early. The babe commences by communicating
with its mother, with its eyes, and by the touches of
its little fingers. It speaks to her by smiles of
gratitude, or by wails of distress. Then, one by one,
the words of speech are learned, until there follows
the larger vocabulary of language by which almost
every thought, desire, or feeling possible to man can
be expressed.
Whether, then, Conversation is, or is not, possible
to other beings, there can be no question that it is
the common privilege of mankind. Of course, while
the language of the tongue is the ordinary medium
for this intercourse, still, when that organ fails, some
other method of communication will be found to
take its place. For instance, with what remarkable
rapidity and correctness can the deaf and dumb
communicate with each other through the movements
of their fingers 1
In the public meetings I hold in Stockholm, in our
large Temple there, I invariably find in the gallery,
quite a number of this bereaved class, to whom one
or two OflScers possessed of the gift of hearing, are
repeating, by signs, the thoughts to which I may be
giving utterance.
The gift of Conversation is, I am afraid, commonly
much abused. It is abused by all kinds of people.
122 Religion for Every Da\.
It is probable, that the tongue of the godless has
been a greater cnrse to mankind than the sword. So
evil, and so productive of evil, among our members
is it, that the Apostle affirms that ^^ it defileth the
whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature,
and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts,
and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the
sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind : but
the tongue can no man tame ; it is an unruly evil,
full of deadly poison."
Then, apart from the more dreadful consequences
brought about by godless Conversation, alluded to by
the Apostle, what a dreadful amount of time and
ability do we see wasted in the useless clatter of
ordinary talk ! You have only to listen, for an hour,
to the Conversation in a railway compartment, at the
table of a restaurant, or in the saloon of a steamer,
or in the gatherings of ordinary society, to be utterly
disgusted with the weakness — nay, the absolute
inanity and silliness of the talk. Men and women who
have, apparently, had a decent education, and who
seem to be intelligent and thoughtful in matters of
business, or the management of their own homes,
will sit for hours pouring forth an uninterrupted
patter of words containing scarcely a grain of thought
or sense, to say nothing about utility.
I am afraid that Salvationists are not faultless in
this respect. There are Officers and Soldiers who
self-sacrificingly labour in the Open-air, on the
platform, in Visitation, and by every other conceiv-
able means, to bless and save the souls of men, who
will every day allow the chances of benefiting the
Conversation. 123
people around them by their Goaversation, to pass
luiimproved away. And worse, the same OfBcers
and Soldiers wiU, at times, absolutely turn these
opportunities to means of lowering the religious tone
of those present, especially the young. They will
grieve the Holy Spirit by lightness and frivolity, by
speaking evU of the absent, and generally discouraging
those who may have been praying and believing for
better things.
These evils often proceed :
1 . From want of thought. There may be no evil
intention on the part of those concerned, but the evil
is done, nevertheless. The example of one Comrade
affects another, and the whole company are carried
away.
2. The wish to be agreeable is another cause.
This in itself is not wrong. Bnt after a few pleasant
things have been said bearing upon health, passing
events, and other matters, an effort should always be
made to turn the Conversation in the direction of
what is advantageous to those present.
3. The foolish ambition to be thought witty
accounts for much of this evil. I must confess to
being unable to see any particular advantage flowing
out of this clownish notoriety. But there are some
Salvationists, 1 am sorry to say, who will treasure
up every piece of trivial nonsense they read, or hear,
or imagine, in order to pour it out at the first
gathering of their Comrades— often, I am ashamed to
say, regardless of the presence of the inexperienced,
or even of the uagodly.
4. Some of those to whom I am referring, will be
124 Religion for Every Day.
guilty of this trashy talk, in order to appear more
than ordinarily clever. They cannot let a topic pass
without saying something about it, whether or not
they have anything to say that is likely to be
intelligent, instructive, or useful — ^in fact, whether
they know anything upon the subject or not. Such
people should remember the remark of the ancient
sage who, when asked why he did not take part in
some particular Conversation, replied, " What was to
the point I could«not say, and what was not to the
point I would not say."
What advantages, then, may be gained by Con-
versation ?
1. The profit and pleasure proceeding from useful
Conversation can scarcely be overstated. To begin
with, it provides valuable employment for time
which would otherwise be wasted. Only count up
the number of hours spent in a single year, in
company with kindred, friends, or strangers, which
aflford us the chance of profitable talk, and you will
be surprised at the total. Take them at only two
hours per day, and you have over seven hundred
and thirty per year, which, divided by ten (about
the number of working hours of an average Salva-
tionist), gives you over seventy days, or ten weeks,
in the year. Instead of wasting all this precious
time in useless gossip, think how large a portion
of it could be agreeably employed in doing good
to the peoples around you by profitable talk.
2. It must be borne in mind, that in Conversation
we have opportunities for usefulness that we cannot
find elsewhere. It seems to me that multitudes
Conversation. 1 25
of people take more notice, and have a clearer
understanding of things that are said to them over
the table, than they do of what is addressed to them
from the platform, althongh accompanied by all
sorts of denunciations and promises ; one reason for
this probably being, that the things spoken of in
a qniet personal talk will often be discussed in a
more natural and understandable manner. Moreover,
the person to whom you are speaking, at such times,
has the opportunity, which is not possessed by the
individual in a public audience, for seeking informa-
tion on aspects of a question that he does not exactly
understand. Then again, in Conversation the people
speak back to you, thus compelling them to think of
what is being said. So, altogether, there is a remark-
able facility in our lives for spreading information by
this method, which does not exist in any other.
Further, there will frequently be children sitting
about, who will usually listen to a Conversation, and
very often gather from it instruction that they would
not be likely to gain so effectively by any other means.
Moreover, Salvationists are constantly meeting
with people whose minds are full of all sorts of
strange, crooked, and false notions about God, The
Army^ and religion generally. I seldom read an
article referring to our Work, in the Press, but I
find it full of blunders and misrepresentations ; and
I rarely get into Conversation with a stranger, but
I find him equally ignorant and misinformed con-
cerning the principles upon which we carry it on,
and the results that flow from it.
Now, what is to be done with these people?
126 Reugion for Every Day.
•
They will not come to onr meetings, and see and
hear for themselves, neither will they read oar
publications. It appears to me, therefore, that onr
greatest, almost onr only, chance with them lies in
the direction of Conversation. I, therefore, advise
my Comrades to talk to this class of individuals,
and hear their difficulties about the Movement, about
conversion, about faith, and about Gk)d, whenever
they have the opportunity.
Tell them your own experience, and God will help
you to pour light into their minds which may be
of the utmost value, making them fast friends of
The Army, or better still, leading them to Salvation.
3. Conversation with Comrades and friends of
similar aim and spirit will ever be found to combine
pleasure with usefulness. What privilege or duty
is there on earth, apart from communion with God,
that is more enjoyable than intelligent and sym-
pathetic Conversation between kindred spirits ? Even
the meaningless gossip about the most trivial things
has a momentary charm. How much more satisfying
is a Conversation, by which you are conscious that
you have talked about matters of higher worth and
interest, in which you have imparted useful instruc-
tion, inspired holy feelings, or been edified and in-
spired in return ! Such intercourse between the saints
of earth is in harmony with the chiefest joys of Heaven.
Looking back over my own life, how well I
remember many of the delightful experiences of
this character, which it has been my privilege to
realise I Precious have those hours of communion
been I How thoughts and language flowed on such
Conversation. 127
occasions I how oar hearts burned I what resolves
for heroic, Christ-like deeds were formed! How
swiftly the hoars passed ; and when the time for
parting came, how reluctant was the conclasion of
the glorioas feast ! Such seasons and opportunities
are not withheld from me, even among the crowded
calls and claims of to-day, and such seasons and oppor-
tunities will be my portion, I trust, till I change the
precious communion of the good and noble here for
blissful fellowship with the redeemed before the Throne.
To make the most of the privilege of Conversation
must, then, be an important duty, which every
Salvationist ought, with all his heart, to endeavour
to discharge. If every OjflScer and every Soldier will
labour to make their Conversation profitable, what
interesting and useful talks there will be when
Comrades meet together ; when they sit at the tables
where they take their daily food ; in their joumeyings
to and fro ; at the family gatherings, whether of joy
or sorrow — nay, in every place to which the Providence
of God may send them I
Let us enquire how this duty can be rightly
discharged.
1. Watchfulness will be necessary. There should
be a set purpose to guard and guide the exercises of
the tongue. Holy Christians, of ancient times, said
much about the grace of " EecoUectedness." By
this, they meant that state of mind, in which the soul
is kept awake to the opportunity of the hour, and the
best method of using it for the glory of God. Oh,
how often, after the event, do we say to ourselves,
" Why did I allow the Conversation to go off in that
128 Religion for Every Day.
useless direction ? Why did I not make an eflfort to
turn it to better account ? " Or " Why did I not oflfer
that remark, which, I now can see, might have been
80 useful to A, B, or C ? " Or " Why did I not
propose a song, or offer to pray, or do something that
I can now see might have proved a real blessing to
those who were there ? " I
But, alas ! this " presence of mind " which is often
spoken of as the grace of Recollectedness — as to who
we are and what is most likely to be useful at the
moment — is too frequently absent when most needed,
and we lose the chance for ever.
Now, if we are to make our Conversations promote
the honour of Christ, and the well-being of those
around us, we must watch for opportunities, and
steadily use them to that end. Why not? A
Salvationist goes to the Open-air meeting and on
to the platform, with such an object. He says to
himself, "I am not going to let this meeting drift
into a mere pastime, a thing just for the amusement
of the hour. No, I will make it benefit someone for
this world and the next." Why should there not be
some such resolution, some similar purpose with
respect to the innumerable opportunities of usefulness
presented by Conversation ?
I do not want it to be supposed that I am advocating
anything like bondage, or sanctimonious or melancholy
talk. Oh, dear, nol Anything of that kind would
at once defeat the object for which I am contending.
The same rule applies to the casual meeting with
Comrades, or indeed, with anyone, where there is
time for a little talk.
Conversation. 129
The first condition of profitable Conversation,
especially in the family, or in more intimate circles,
is a sense of freedom. This necessitates a certain
amonnt of what might be termed ^^ small talk," which,
more or less, embraces the matters that have to do
with the family life of the honr. This will include
a free-and-easy chat abont the health of the invalid,
the last letters from relatives and friends far away,
the sayings and doings of the Children, their lessons,
their toys and their play.
Or again, there are the happenings at the meeting
of the Sunday, or the night before, the coming
holidays, the weather, and a hundred other things
which are of natural interest at the moment, and
cannot be ignored. Indeed, if for no other reason,
or advantage, they will serve the good purpose of
training the junior members of the circle in the art
of friendly and kindly Conversation, and do something
towards correcting the loud, boorish style of talk
which is now so common with many young people.
When, however, all, or a portion, of these matters
have been turned over, more imi)ortant subjects can be
mentioned, and dealt with as circumstances may dictate.
2. Again, in Conversation there should be nothing
vulgar or impure. I leave the family out of con-
sideration here — for, surely, such a thing would be
impossible there — my reference being specially to
Conversation where men only are present, although
I am not sure that women do not occasionally err
in this direction.
We ought not to forget the readiness of the
human heart to take fire ! A very small spark may
9
130 Reugion for Every day.
kindle, in the most innocent breast, a flame of lust
that will never be extinguished — no, not in the fires
of Hell. I conld not allow myself to even imagine
that a Salvationist would lend himself to the
expressions and anecdotes that pass current so
freely amongst many ungodly people. Nevertheless,
Comrades may be betrayed into expressions that
have double meanings, and that are not in keeping
with the purity enjoined by our Lord, and in which
The Salvation Army glories. Therefore, let them
beware, and set a vigilant watch at "Ear-gate" as
well as a guard upon their lips!
3. Nothing should be allowed in Conversation
that is contrary to sound doctrine. If you have
difficulties about the holy truths to which you stand
pledged, seek for counsel from your Leaders, or
leave them over until you come to know the will
of God more perfectly, always bearing in mind how
easy it is to sow doubt, or plant unbelief, in young
or ignorant minds, which will go on growing, until
rooted and grounded in their very nature, they
produce poisonous fruits that fill the soul with error
and ruin the whole life. You may be able to grapple
with these infidel difficulties yourself, but the minds
in which you sow the seed may not be strong enough
to accomplish this mastery, and may, consequently,
go down under them for ever. To show off your
knowledge of falsehood and other evils may be an
amusement to you, but it may result in death eternal
to those who hear you talk. Again, I say. Beware 1
4. Let there be no disloyalty in your Conversation.
I sometimes think that every man has a Judas
Conversation, 131
somewhere in his make np, and oftenest of all that
traitor is in his mouth I The shortcomings, misdoings,
and imperfections of those whom the Providence of
God has placed over men, has ever been a tempting
topic for discussion. Fickle and weakly and evil
minds are only too frequently led away by it, and
a host of miseries and misfortunes follow. In the
history of all organisations, there have been men,
and, alas I some women also, who, whether they
have remained within its borders or gone over to
its foes, have delighted in destroying the confidence
of their Comrades in the beneficence and rectitude
of those placed in authority over them. I know
that they will sometimes tell you, that this destroying
of the landmarks and undermining of faith, has
been done without any evil intention. But, alas I
the evil consequences have followed, whether in-
tended or no. Do not be one of those sneaking
whisperers ! Better pull your tongue out by the
roots, than let it cause one of God's little ones to
stumble and be lost. Do not allow yourselves to
make insinuations in the dark, which you would
be ashamed to have repeated in the broad daylight.
Scorn to make suggestions behind the backs of your
Comrades calculated to destroy their influence and
to cripple their power for usefulness, which you would
be afraid to speak out before their faces. Remember
the words of Jesus : *^ Whatsoever ye have spoken
in darkness shall be heard in the light ; and that
which ye have spoken in the ear " — that is, whispered
— " shall be proclaimed upon the housetops ! "
I need not say, that this refers to all kinds of a
132 Reugion for Every Day.
lawful authority, whether it be that of the master
in the workshop, the mistress in the family, an
OflScer of The Army, or such an OflScer's wife ; indeed,
from the Soldier to the citizen, right up to the top,
both in The Army and in the State. Neither practise
it, nor allow it, I say, in any company where you have
a voice or in which you may be present. Nay, more,
rebuke it in anyone else, no matter who it may be.
5. In your Conversation keep as far off the dicta-
torial as you can. Do not speak in tones or with
manners that would seem to imply that you know
better than everyone else; that you are infallible,
and that " wisdom will die with you ! " It is quite
possible that you may have some reason for enter-
taining the idea that you are in every way superior
in sense, intelligence, and religion to those around
you, and that your notions are always and ever correct
ones. But even if it is so, it is certainly unnecessary
that you should inform every person with whom you
are familiar of the fact. Remember that, after all,
it is just possible that you may be mistaken.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit, among
other things, the kindly esteem of those with whom
they associate ; while the self-opinionated and self-
righteous and masterful earn only their pity and
hearty dislike, if not their absolute scorn.
What can be done, then, to accomplish all this —
that is, to make Conversation as pleasant and useful
as possible ? I will give you some advice.
1. Make a definite effort by starting topics in
Conversation that you can see will be interesting
and usefal to the company in which you find yourself ;
Conversation. 133
and, having started them, try to keep them going.
The latter part of the bnsiness is the di£Scnlty. For
myself, I have seldom failed, in any company, in the
task of introducing a subject, bnt keeping it afloat
has often been, not only difficult, but all but im-
possible. The excitement arising from the occasional
meeting with friends, seems to generate a kind of
wordy mood that, unless taken hold of with a strong
hand, carries everybody away, so that before one
knows where he is, the topic he has brought on to
the board has vanished, and three or four others
are being discussed in its place.
It is not a bad plan to have a little understanding
— a kind of conspiracy — amongst one or two members
of the company to keep a given topic to the front.
This can easily be done, and what one says *the other
can second, or reply to, or raise a difficulty about,
until all are interested, and then the ball will roll
on of its own momentum.
2. Intelligent and interested listening has much
to do with good talking. Who can speak, when the
hearers make it evident that they are too impatient
to listen, or that they want all the time to them-
selves ? I have found the greatest difference in the
ease with which I have conversed with some who
pass for being the great people of the world. The
manner of many seems to stop the flow of thought,
and paralyse the power of utterance ; while that of
others has just the contrary effect, making it not only
a delight to listen to what they say, but a pleasure
to answer them, or to start off on a line of your own.
The late Mr. Gladstone was one of the most
134 Reugion for Every Day.
remarkable instances of this. He was a great man,
ftdl of stores of wisdom and experience of many
kinds, having, perhaps, a greater knowledge of the
world, of men and things, than anyone else in it,
during the later years of his life. And yet, when
we talked together, one afternoon, in his study at
Harwarden, his manner made me feel so perfectly
at home, he said all he had to say so gently, so
enqairingly, that I found it a delight to talk to him,
and a greater delight still to listen. What a contrast
his manner afforded to some people's way of dealing
with Salvation ; yes, and what a contrast it afforded
to the manner with which some Salvationists deal
with each other 1
Similar feelings will be experienced in Conversation
with ordinary people. I frequently meet with those
who make it evident that they care for nothing that I
can say, however important it may be. In such cases,
I usually close ap, instinctively, and retire within
myself, like the snail into his shell, concluding that
either I have nothing to say that is thought worth
listening to by my hearers, or that my manner of
saying it lacks the power to interest. Others, how-
ever, even when they do not agree with all I say,
will incline their ears and answer me by approving
smiles, by questions of their own, by responses, and
confirmatory expressions, so far as to make it difficult
for me to stop speaking, or to tear myself away from
their society. You will find it very much the same.
3. Encourage others around you to talk. Often
those who have something to say, which is most
worthy of being said, will be the last to join in the
Conversation. 136
Conversation; while those who are the least in-
telligent, will be the most pushful and make the
most rattle. Ask for opinions from the silent ones.
In fact, it will not be found to be a bad plan,
occasionally, to get everyone to give their own view
of the subject under discussion.
Do not overlook the women who may be present.
How coolly, unjustly, and thoughtlessly — I was going
to say, how conceitedly — the men will often ignore the
women in a Conversation, concerning a matter about
which they have just as correct and, perhaps, even a
more practical judgment than themselves ! They may
not exactly prohibit the women joining in the Con-
versation; on the contrary, they may say that they
have the same opportunity of expressing their opinions
as themselves; but the arbitrary manner in which
they will absorb the time, and address their Con-
versation to each other, scarcely noticing the women,
makes it plain enough that they do not consider
that they can have anything to say to which it is
worth their while to listen.
In the family I need not point out that the wife,
especially if she be a mother also, ought always to
have the opportunity, whether she uses it or not, of
a fair share in whatever Conversation goes on; and
on many questions it will not only be safe, but useful
and also very interesting, to bring the children in.
It will make them listen to what their elders say;
and having to deliver themselves of their opinion
before father and mother, will assist them in forming
habits of thought and expression which will be useful
to them in the future*
136 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
XIX.
Tribulation*
My Deab Combadbs, —
Tribulation is the lot of all men. Suffering, in
one form or another, is the inheritance of every son and
daughter of Adam. It is a ceaseless source of wonder
to me, as I travel up and down the world, to find,
how invariably every individual I come in contact
with seems to have a bitter of some kind 'or other in
his cup ; and it is farther cause for wonder, to mark
the variety of the trials, and sorrows, and cares that
come alike to one and all.
I have noticed, also, that there is no exception to
this rule, in the case of those who choose the present
world as their portion. They will tell you, that they
prefer the certainties they can see and feel and
handle, to the uncertainties that are only apprehended
by faith; or, as a secularist leader used to put it, they
would rather have "the bird in the hand than the
bird in the bush." But this preference for the things
which are temporal, and which pass away, to the
things which are eternal, does not, even when it is
realised to the full, in the least degree deliver those
who express it from the Tribulations, either present
or future, which are inseparable from human life —
these are ever with them, and will be to the end.
Tribulation. 137
Nor does the lot of God's own people ensure any
departure from the same rule. " In the world," said
Jesus to His chosen disciples, " ye shall have Tribula-
tion." The choice of Christ, as their Lord and Sove-
reign, and the consecration of all they possess to His
Service, will not save them from the sorrows that are
common to all who live beneath the sun. On the
contrary, it may bring them many additional trials.
That this should be the case, ought not to surprise
you, my Comrades, cause you to question the over-
ruling wisdom of Providence, or make you doubt the
love of God for you. Tribulation has been the portion
of God's choicest Saints from the beginning. Bead
the history of Abel and Noah, of Lot and Abraham,
of Joseph and Moses, and the whole host of Prophets
and heroes who followed them, as set forth in the
Bible. Take the brief summary given of their history
in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Let me quote a few of its thrilling sentences :
" And, what shall I more say ? for the time wovMfail me
to teU of Gideon, and of Barak, a/nd of Sampson, and of
Jephthae; of David also, and Samud, and of the prophets :
" Who throTigh faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteous-
ness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of Uons,
" Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the
sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in
fighi, twrned to flight the armies of the aliens,
" Women received their dead raised to life again : aiid
others were tortu/red, not accepting deliverance; that they
might obtain a better resurrection :
" And others had trial of crvsl mockings and scourgings,
yea^ moreover of bonds and imprisonment :
" They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted,
138 Religion for Every Day.
were slain with the awcrd: they wcmdered about in eheep-
akina and goatakine ; being deatittUey (ifflicted, tormented ;
** {Of whom the world waa not worthy :) they wandered in
deaerta, and in moimtaina, and in dena <md caves of the
earth:'
Then, what a record of similar conflicts and
trinmphs we have, in the early history of the people
of Christ! What crucifixions, and burnings, and
drownings ; what tearings to pieces by wild beasts ;
what imprisonments and slaveries; what unheard-of
tortures and starvations I What waves of sorrow and
suffering have been endured for Christ's sake, for the
truth's sake, for the sake of souls, and for the sake of
a good conscience, by the followers of Jesus Christ
all the way down the ages to the present day 1 You
cannot, therefore, be surprised, or complain, if you
also should be called to endure Tribulation for Him
who, for our sakes, was the greatest sufferer of all.
Jesus Christ said to His disciples, and through
them He says to you, "In the world ye shall have
Tribulation," " If they have persecuted Me, they will
also persecute you ; " while Paul assures us that " all
who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer per-
secution." When you are a sufferer, when your burden
of care and trouble increases, think upon the following:
1. God has promised to support you in your trials
while you walk in the light; that is, while you do
His blessed will. Some of the most beautiful and
precious passages to be found in the Bible, describe
the consolations which He promises to His Soldiers,
while they are battling with the difficulties, persecu-
tionS| and sufferings of life. Let me name one or two.
Tribulation. 139
He promises you His support. " The eternal God is
thy refnge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."
He promises you the comfort of His Presence.
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be
with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not
overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame
kindle upon thee."
He promises you victory. " God is faithful. Who
will not suflFer you to be tempted above that ye are
able ; but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." " Nay, in
all these things we are more than conquerors through
Him that loved us."
2. Tribulations are intended for your profit. " All
things work together for good to them that love
God." Rightly accepted, they will promote your
Holiness and usefulness, and help you to understand
and struggle for the welfare of those around you.
Paul says, " For our light affliction, which is but for
a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory." What is more, they
strengthen faith, and help the formation of that
character which God desires His children to possess.
And then, at the end, they add lustre to the glory of
that bright inheritance, where it can, truthfully, be
said of those who have fought their way through,
" These are they which came out of great Tribulation,
and have washed their robes, and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb."
140 Reugion for Every Day,
XX.
Poverty*
My Dear Comrades,—
Many of God's people are poor. "Hath not
God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and
heirs of the Kingdom which He hath promised to them
that love Him?" For a long time in the early
history of the Church, poverty was, with few excep-
tions, a necessity. The man who embraced Christ
had to leave his houses and his lands. Every door
of business was closed to him, no one would employ
him, buy of him, or sell to him. His own family
rose up against him and cast him out. Unless he
was seized and made a slave, the wilderness became
his dwelling-place and the caves of the earth his
home. It is true, that there were exceptions to this
state of things, but they were not very numerous.
Poverty is the lot of the majority of Christ's
followers to-day. Few who are not poor will comply
with the terms of Salvation. " Not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,
are called^^ It is still true, " How hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God I "
They are called, but they will not come, and even
when those who might gain riches have entered the
Poverty. 141
Kingdom, the opportunities for money-making are
often closed to them, on account of their conscientious
scruples and their high standard of right and wrong.
However, they prefer poverty, with a good conscience,
to wealth without it.
Now, while there is no doubt that extreme poverty
is an evil, and is one of the results of " the thorns
and thistles " that followed the first transgression of
our first parents, it is also evident that to be poor,
when there is not actual want of the necessities of life,
is not an unmixed evil. On the contrary, it has many
advantages, both for this life and the life that is to
come. I am quite sure, from my own observation,
that, as a whole, the poor, in the sense in which we
usually use the word, are, as a rule, more content,
are more usefully occupied, enjoy better health, are
less burdened by anxiety, and, in fact, are happier
than the well-to-do classes. And, when I come to
consider the advantages enjoyed by the poor, in
regard to things of God, it is manifest that poverty
has some great compensations.
1. A poor man is more likely to be saved than a
rich man. That is, he will be more ready to hearken
to the call to repentance. Being more loosely bound
to the world, it will be easier for him to break away
from it and fall in with God's offers of mercy. On
the other hand, the rich man will be much better
satisfied with his present condition and disinclined to
leave it. He will be so comfortable, that he will
not care about a change ; and heavier sacrifices being
demanded, in his case, than in that of a poor man,
he will be far more unwilling to make the surrender.
142 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
2. The pride of a rich man will make it more
difficalt for him to face the scorn that comes upon
the followers of Jesos Christ. The Cross, which the
poor have to carry in making an open confession of
Salvation, is heavy enough ; but, in the case of the
proud and well-to-do person, that Cross will be
heavier still.
3. Poverty is favourable to Holy Living. The
same things which operate in the favour of a poor
man commencing a truly religious life, operate in
favour of his persevering and attaining eminence
in it.
4. Poverty is conducive to a life of usefulness.
The greatest of the world's benefactors have been
poor. Moses came of a family of bondsmen, and
when God called him to deliver Israel, he was
working as a shepherd in the land of Midian. The
great Prophets of God to His ancient people were
nearly all poor. David began life as a keeper of
sheep. Elijah and Elisha were in a position answering
very nearly to that of our Captains, without any
Divisional Officer to fall back upon when driven into
a corner I Nehemiah, Daniel, and the three Hebrew
Children were slaves. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
Hosea, Amos, and the other Prophets were all poor
men, and the children of poor men. Our Lord Jesus
Christ Himself grew up in a cottage home at
Nazareth, and was a working man. The Apostles
and Disciples who established the first Communities
of Christ's people, and who shook the world, mostly
came from the ranks of the poor, as also did the
great bulk of the Fathers of the Early Church.
Poverty. 143
If you come down to later times, the Franciscan
and other Religious Orders, who have, at one time
or another, saved Christianity from extinction, have
been composed of men and women who were either
poor in their parentage and breeding, or voluntarily
made themselves poor for Christ's sake. Luther
and Melancthon, and the other master minds of the
Reformation, were poor men, as also were Huss
and Wycliflfe, and a host of others who stood up for
the truth, and wrote their names in blessings on
the world.
The Salvationists, with very few exceptions, have
been poor people, poor not only as to money and
houses and lands, but destitute also of the learning
of the schools, and ignorant of the worldly wisdom
of the colleges. And yet, they have done more to
revolutionise the religion of the Nineteenth Century
than any other people who have operated in the
world during that time, and have been the means,
also, of rescuing and saving multitudes of the most
hopeless classes of society.
5. Poverty demands and encourages energy.
Luxury and ease weaken and destroy these traits
of character which make brave men and women.
" Necessity is the mother of invention ; " hardship
is the friend of activity, of push and go, in the affairs
of men.
6. Poverty is favourable to that sympathy and
compassion which helps to make successful soul-
winners — nay, without which, successful soul-winners
cannot be made.
Now, let me give a few counsels to the children
144 Religion for Every Day.
of God who are called to occupy a humble position
in this life.
1. Those Salvationists who are poor, should praise
God for that measnre of the good things of this
world they do possess. Look around you, my
Comrades, and you will find large numbers of people
who are, so far as this world goes, much less
favourably circumstanced than yourselves.
2. Remember, there is nothing in your poverty
to shut you out from ^Hhe peace that passeth all
understanding," and " the joy that is unspeakable
and full of glory." Some of the brightest and most
triumphant Saints have been amongst the poorest
of the poor.
3. If an opportunity of improving your circum-
stances presents itself, and, after prayer and
reflection, you believe the position offered, will be
in harmony with righteousness, the promotion of
the glory of God in you and your family, and the
good of The Army, you are at liberty to embrace
it. There is no sin in the possession of wealth I
It is the use which you make of it, which is the
all-important matter.
4. If God prospers you, do not forget His goodness,
grow proud, and cease to be the same humble,
devoted, self-sacrificing Salvationist that you were
in the days of your hardship and poverty. Let all
you have be His.
5. Whatever your lot may be, do not worry. Have
faith in God I
145
XXI.
Sickness*
My Dbak Combadbs, —
I have, I think, already said something in the
course of these Letters, as to the valne of health, and
the importance of nsing all reasonable means for its
maintenance. I do hope that my counsels, bearing
on this subject, will receive yonr consideration, for
we must all agree that "prevention is better than
care."
But after every eifort has been made, that can be
made, for the preservation of this inestimable boon.
Sickness, unwelcome as it is, will break into the best
regulated families ; and when the family is a large
one, it will seldom be absent for a very long time
together. Perhaps, therefore, few topics have more to
do with the peace, comfort, and well-being of a house-
hold than the best means of dealing with Sickness
when it does appear. What can I say? Well, to
begin :
1. Do not give way to unnecessary fear on the
first approach of Sickness. Nothing will be likely,
more effectually to hinder your purpose of helping
the suffering, than panic or anything bordering upon
it. Do not unduly magnify the matter, either to
10
146 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
yourself or those aronnd yon ; and especially would
I say, " Do not alann the sufferer with long faces or
hasty words about the seriousness of the malady."
The symptoms by which different diseases manifest
themselves very strongly resemble each other. When
our vessel reached Freemantle, on my last visit to
Australia, it was found that we had a Singhalese
man servant on board, who showed symptoms of
Chicken-pox, which symptoms are very much like
those developed in the earlier stages of Small-pox.
The ship's Doctor examined the man and said that
he had Chicken-pox, but the Officer of Health, who
came on board on our arrival, said No, it was, he
feared, something more serious than that — ^it was
Small-pox. And as the Harbour Authorities objected
to the risk of anyone landing, infected with that
disease, they sent fifty-two of the passengers, myself
amongst the number, to afford themselves the oppor-
tunity of ascertaining whether we had the disease
as well. After waiting two or three days, the sufferer's
disease developed and the ship's Doctor turned out
to be right, and the Officer of Health wrong. It was
not Small-pox, but Chicken-pox, and after encounter-
ing more inconvenience than I can here describe, we
were all set at liberty.
Now, try to avoid such alarms, not only to the
sufferer but to yourselves. When symptoms can be
interpreted in the direction of several maladies, you
should hope for the least serious of the number.
When a hot skin, and a painful head and back,
combined with general exhaustion, indicate either
a bad feverish cold, or the beginning of Influenza,
S/C/CNESS. 147
or the first stage of some contagious Fever, do not
jump at once to the conclasion that the patient is
saffering from the most dangerous disease of the
three ; but, while taking proper care of the invalid,
hope that it is nothing worse than the least serious.
In following this somewhat sanguine method,^ you
can always encourage yourself with the experience
of the man who said that seven-eighths of the things
from which he had suffered the most during his life-
time had never happened I If this is applicable to
anything in human history, I am sure it is true of
anticipations of disease in a family.
Loving hearts are ever ready to fear the worst in
such circumstances. They cannot help it. Oh, how
often, with my own dear children, have I, at such
hours, been able to calm gloomy forebodings, and
quiet anxious hearts, by hoping for the best ; and,
oh, how many, many times my sanguine predictions
have proved correct 1 " If hopes are false, fears
oftener lie."
But, is it not the safest always to fear the worst
and to take precautions accordingly ? No, I cannot
say that it is. Hoping for the best does not prevent
such precautions being taken. Indeed, they should
be taken.
But is there not such a thing as losing time?
Doubtless, there is ; and therefore, everyone re-
sponsible for the health of others, should be familiar
with those symptoms which usually indicate the
approach of serious illness, such as high temperature,
a very rapid or very slow pulse, continued vomiting, de-
lirium, persistent sore throat, continued sleeplessness,
148 REUGION for EVERY DAY,
pain that cannot be accounted for^ and so on. In
elderly people, sudden chills should always be treated
seriously.
2. When such signs are present, there are grounds
for apprehending that the Sickness is serious, and an
intelligent and reliable opinion should at once be
obtained as to the nature of the malady. In this
respect, a Doctor can help you ; but having obtained
his opinion, you should still use your own judgment
and carefully watch the progress of the complaint.
3. Beware of physic, whether supplied by a regular
practitioner, or from that numerous company of
quacks who profess to cure almost everything with
the same remedy. My own preferences, in Sickness
and ill health, are for what is known as the system
of Hydropathy, or the Water-cure. I have frequently
seen in my own family, what might almost be styled
miraculous cures wrought by this system, and strongly
advise my readers to be at some trouble to make
themselves acquainted with it. Some simple sugges-
tions upon this subject will be found at the end of
this volume.
4. I also recommend to the consideration of my
Comrades everywhere, what I have said already in
these Letters on eating, drinking, and the like. They
have much to do with delicate health, and illness
of all kinds. Let people exercise common sense on
these questions, and test the counsels I have given
them by personal application. When I get out of
condition myself, my plan is usually to fall back upon
a little extra fasting, sleeping, and bathing. I find
the Lamp Bath, as I have recommended it to you.
S/C/CNESS. 149
to be a nsefol remedy in cases of chill, over-fatigne,
and sleeplessness.
But as my maladies will, no doabt, dilFer from those
of others, the remedies must be dilFerent also. Judge
for yourselves.
5. After all that has been said and done, however,
most people will rely very much on the regular
Doctor. They are at his mercy, whether he belongs
to the old — the Alopath — the new — the Homeopath
— or any other school. When I was ill in South
Australia, I felt so confused with the conflicting
theories of the Medical Faculty, and so uncertain as
to the possibility of finding anyone whose opinions
would be at all likely to accord with my own, that
I simply said, "Find me, a capable, conscientious,
and, if possible, a God-fearing man, and let us see
what he can do." They found me a Doctor whom
I believe answered to that description. As to the
system he followed, I am glad that I have not to
pronounce an opinion upon it ! I got well — that was
what I wanted to do — and that quicker than anyone
expected. He paid me every possible attention by
night and by day, and would not receive any fee
either for his medicine or trouble. God bless him !
6. I need not impress upon Salvationists the duty
of dealing faithfully with the souls of those by
whose sick-bed they watch. If there is any un-
certainty about the safety of the sufierers for
Eternity, push them up to that repentance and faith
in Christ which will secure them admission into the
City of Light if they die ; and will make them useful
warriors of the Cross if they recover.
150 Reugion for Every Day.
XXII.
Bereavement*
My Dear Comradbs, —
By Bereavements I mean the loss of dear ones,
whether kindred or precious friends, through death.
Many of my readers will have been called, already,
to pass through this experience, and they will know
it to be one of the most painful that can possibly
come to man. Others have yet to feel that mysterious
sense of helplessness, that inner agony and grief,
which seize us as we watch our loved ones die.
Money, reputation, health, and a great many other
valuable things, when lost, may often be recovered,
but the companions of our hearts and homes and
lives, when summoned by the inevitable silent
Visitor, can never be restored to us in this world.
They cannot be brought out of the grave, or given
back to our fond embrace, until the Eesurrection
morning. They " are as water spilt on the ground,
which cannot be gathered up again."
Death is a painful visitor. The poet sings :
" Why do we mofwm departing friends^
Or shake at death a dlarmai
^Tia btU the voice that Jeeua sends
To eaU them to His arms.*
Bereavement. 151
That is a beantifnl sentiment, and as trne as it is
beautiful; nevertheless, after all has been said that
can be said, to stand on the banks of the Biver, and
watch your best-beloved struggle through its dark
and stormy waters, even though you may catch some
ray of brightness from the other shore, is a painful
and agonising experience.
Still, God can, and does, wonderfully strengthen the
hearts of His faithful children for those gloomy hours.
Many years ago, I spent six weeks in the house
of a friend, who appeared to me to be one of the
holiest men I had yet been privileged to meet. He
has long since passed away to his reward. I hope to
see him again in the Glory-land. This friend told
me that his young wife died after they had lived
together only a short time ; that he loved her with all
his heart, but he was so assured of the glorious state
of existence to which God, in His love, had taken her,
and was so comforted by the consolations of His Holy
Spirit, that he was filled, as never before, with unspeak-
able triumph as he stood by her open grave. ^^ death,
where is thy sting ? grave, where is thy victory ? "
Wesley sings of death very much in the same
spirit. Here are three of the verses :
** Rejoice for a brother deceaeed^
Owr lose is his infinite gain ;
A soul out of prison released^
And freed from its bodily chain;
With songs let us foUow his fiight,
And mount with his spirit above,
Escaped to the ma/nsions of light.
And lodged in the Eden of love.
162 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
'* Owr brother the haven hath gained,
(hU'Jlying the tempest and wind,
Hie rest he hath eooner obtained,
And left hie companions behind,
Still tossed on a eea of distress,
Ha/rd toiling to make the blest shore.
Where aU is assuraruse and peace,
And sorrow and sin are no nwre.
^^ Ah, lovely appearatioe of death !
What sight upon ea/rth is so fair 9
Not aU the gay pageants that breathe,
Ca/n with a dead body compare.
With solemn delight I survey
The corpse when the spirit is fled,
In love 'with the beautiful clay.
And longing to lie in its stead"
These lines set forth an experience which, I am
afraid, is not very common. Many of my readers will
acknowledge it as being some distance beyond them.
Although full of confidence as to the safety of their
loved ones, their hearts were none the less sorrowful
when they bade them a last farewell ; and daily and
hourly they mourn their absence. What can I say
to these sufferers?
1. Accept your sorrow without murmuring. There
is an important difference between being weighed
down under the burden of a great affliction and
fighting against it. To rebel against a Divine decree
will not help you. One of my Officers tells of a
man, who said to him, one day, in a railway train, that
he believed in God till he lost his child ; but when
the baby died, he gave up that belief. Whereupon
Bereavement. 153
the Officer asked him, what has often seemed to me
a wise and tender question, Had giving up his faith
in God made him feel any better about his loss ?
With tears in his eyes, he admitted that such was not
the case. To readers of this Letter, whose hearts
may be breaking on account of some painful Bereave-
ment, let me say that, while God will not condemn
you for your sorrow, to rebel against His Providence,
instead of making you feel better, will only make you
feel worse.
2. Thank God for having favoured you with such
precious companions. Better to have loved and been
loved again, even though only for a little while, than
never to have known such love at all.
"/ IwJd it true, whatever befaU,
I fed it when I sorrow most ;
'Tis better to have loved and lost,
Than never to have loved at all"
3. Rejoice, amid your sorrow, that your dear ones
are safely landed on the Eternal Shore. If you had
a son journeying on the wide seas to some distant
land, and you received tidings that the vessel had
struck upon some sunken rock on some desolate
coast, or had been destroyed by fire in mid-ocean,
your first enquiry would be, " What about the
passengers ? What about my son ? " If, for a time,
you could get no information, the suspense would add
to your distress ; and, on the supposition that he had
been drowned, you would probably feel, even if you
did not say, that it would be a comfort to you if his
poor body could be found and have a decent burial.
But supposing, that in the midst of your distress,
154 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
the news reached you that, although the vessel was
lost, the yonng man was saved, and that he had
landed in a beantifnl country among a friendly people,
that his health was good, his surroundings agreeable,
and that he had started an excellent business, with
every promise of lasting prosperity. How great
would be your joy 1
Now, I feel that all comparisons between the
earthly and the Heavenly are poor, indeed; but
may not those who mourn the loss of departed friends,
comfort themselves something after this fashion ?
Their loved ones have suffered a shipwreck, but they
have not perished. No, they have been rescued and
carried away to the Celestial shores. Their wants
are abundantly supplied; their companions are the
multitudes of the redeemed ; their employments and
felicities are beyond the power of our words to tell,
or our minds to imagine; they are doing the will
of our God, and will live in His presence for ever.
They have entered into the infinite bliss of those of
whom it is written : "Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that
love Him."
4. Encourage yourself with the prospect of meeting
again, those who have passed away from you, and
that before very long. This was David's consolation
on the loss of his child. He seems to have loved
it very tenderly indeed, and there were few things
in his kingdom so precious, that he would not have
given to have kept the babe. But when it was gone,
after the first agony of his grief, Jie bowed to the
Bereavement. 155
Divine will, saying : « I shall go to him, but he
shall not return to me."
If the father I have just referred to, on hearing
that his boy was safe and sound, happy and prosperous,
although unable to return to his native land, had been
informed that arrangements had been made for the
emigration of himself and all his comrades, kindred,
and friends to the same country, to participate in all
the luxuries of which the young man was already the
possessor, I am sure the father would have been still
further comforted in his loss. I think he would have
been likely to say, " Praise God ; it is well with my
boy; although he cannot come to us, we can go to
him." We may have to wait awhile, but it will not
be very long before we see him again and share in
the delights of this new land."
So, my Comrades, your wife or your husband, or
some companion of your heart, a part of yourself as
it were, or your darling, the flower of your flock, has
suffered shipwreck on the ocean of time. The vessel
in which that dear one sailed, went to pieces ; perhaps
it was worn out by old age, or it struck, perchance,
upon some fever rock, or mayhap it was overtaken
by some stormy epidemic, and after battling bravely
for a time, went down to rise no more till the resur-
rection of the dead. But your loved one is safe.
Your Master has sent forth the assurance, that you
may meet again among the nations of them that are
saved, and it is your business to get your work done
thoroughly and well, and be ready for the meeting
when your call shall come.
In my early days, I remember being very much
156 Reugion for Every Day,
impressed with the following simple song. It may,
perhaps, carry a little comfort to some of my bereaved
readers ; and although not altogether miknown, I give
it here for the sake of those who may not have met
with it before. It is entitled :
»
"thb first song of thb saint in hbavbn.
"/ bKxim in the light of God;
His likeness stamps vny brow ;
Through the valley of death my feet have trod^
And I reign in Glory now.
" / ?iave reached the joys of Heaven,
I am one of the sainted ha/nd ;
For my head a crown of gold is given,
And a harp is in my hand.
" / have learnt the song they sing
Whom Jesus hath set free.
And the glorious walls of Heaven siiU ring
With my new-horn melody,
" Ohy friends of mortal yea/rs,
The trusted and the trus/
Ye are watching still in the vale of tears,
But I wait to welcome you.
''Do I forget? Oh, no!
For memory's golden chain
Shall hind my heart to the hearts hdow.
Till they meet to touch again.
''Each Unk is strong and bright,
And love's electric flame
Flows freely down like a river of Ught
To the world from whence I came.
Berea VEMENT, 1 67
^^ Bo you mourn when cmoUier stcvr
Shines ou/t from the glittering sky?
Bo you weep when the raging voice of war
And the storms of conflict die ?
" ITien why shofM yov/r tears run doum,
And yowr hearts he sorely riven,
For another gem in the Sotmowi^s crown.
And another soul in Heaven ? "
But here, some of my readers may be saying to
me : " What if yon cannot cherish this precions hope
with respect to yonr departed kindred ? " We have
been to the grave, with those whose belief and
character have prevented ns entertaining any such
pleasant expectations, as those yon have mentioned.
To ns their future is a dark uncertainty.
" How can we comfort ourselves ? " To them I can
only make one reply : Leave them with God. The
Judge of all the earth will do right. Hope for the
departed cannot do them harm. So exercise it, if you
can. But let the uncertainty which you feel about
the destiny of the dead, moke you doubly diligent
in doing all that in you lies to aecure a sure and
certain hope for the living.
158 Reugion for Every Day.
XXIII.
The Bible*
My Dbar Comrades, —
I desire to offer yon some connsel about the
Bible. You will all know that the Bible is a very
important Book, and I have no doubt yon set great
store by it; indeed, I am pleased to learn that, of
late, more thought is being given to its pages than
ever throughout The Army. But still, I am afraid
that the precious Book does not receive the attention
that it demands.
Let me try to say a word or two that will be
likely to better impress upon you its great value.
The Bible is a very Wonderful Book. Its very
name signifies this, for the word Bible simply means
The Book, so that when we say the Bible, we mean
that it is The Booky the Book which, above every
other, a man should know, treasure, and obey. If,
to a wise man, the choice were offered of the Bible,
on the one hand, or all the books in the world, on
the other, he would choose the Bible.
It is so valuable because —
1. In the first place, God is its Author. He caused
it to be written under His special direction. The
Holy Ghost put the thoughts which it records into
The Bible. 159
the Ihearts of Holy men. They wrote them down ;
that is the reason we speak of it as the Word of
Gtod. "Holy men," etc.
2. The Bible is an important Book, becaase it
tells ns of God. We might have expected that our
Heavenly Father would not leave us in ignorance
about Himself. If there is a God whom we ought
to serve, we might be quite sure that He would want
to tell us of His Power and Love, and to declare
what His feelings are towards us. And that is just
what He has done in the Bible. It is a precious
Book because it is a revelation of God.
3. The Bible is a valuable Book, because from it
we learn all that we know about the Birth and Life,
the Sufferings and Death, the Eesurrection and
Ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Except for one or two passing remarks in one other
very ancient book, we should all be in ignorance of
the career of our Lord but for the Bible. Then we
have the wonderful story of His Earthly Journey ings,
His Marvellous Miracles, His Wonderful Addresses ;
His glorious Death and Eesurrection; and oh, what
a fascinating story it is !
4 The Bible tells us all we know with certainty
about the Future State. We should be in utter
ignorance of what happens after Death if it were
not for the Bible. It is the Bible that tells us of
the Resurrection of the Dead, the Great White Throne,
the Heaven of Delight, and the Hell of Misery. But
for the Bible we should be in complete darkness
concerning these important things.
5. It is the Bible that tells us of the merits of
160 Reugion for Every Day.
the Precious Blood of our dear Savionr, the possi-
bilities of the Forgiveness of Sins, the Purification of
our Hearts, the Protection of Gtod, and the Triumph
of a dying hour. Of these blessed possibilities
mankind would know nothing without the Bible.
6. The Bible has had a mighty influence for good
on the World in the years that are past. It has won
the hearts and enlightened the lives of millions. It
has rescued multitudes from the Horrible Pit, led
their feet to the Rock of Ages, filled their mouths
with singing, kept them from falling into Hell, and
guided them safely to the golden streets of the
Celestial City.
7. The Bible has been more bitterly attacked and
more cruelly slandered than any other Book in ex-
istence. Again and again men have exerted every
power to effect its destruction. But it has survived
all opposition, and to-day is more widely circulated,
and is probably more generally read, than ever before.
Not all the powers of Earth and Hell combined have
been able to destroy the blessed Bible.
8. Bad men hate the Bible, denounce it, call it
hard names, call in question its truths, and wish
it were out of existence. Good men love it, read
it, make it the guide of their lives, spread it abroad,
and thank God for its precious pages.
9. The Truths written down and explained in the
Bible have done wonders for Salvationists. What
would you have been without them ? But for the
free Salvation set forth in the Bible, many of you
would have been in the grave, and your souls cast
into outer darkness, while others would have been
The Bible. 161
on their way there. Oh, precious Book I What a
priceless blessing it has been to The Salvation Army I
Now, my Comrades, I want to ask the question,
What ought you to do with the Bible? Ought
you to Neglect it — pass it over for the Newspaper,
the Story Book, or other rubbish ? By no means.
That is how the godless world around you deals
with the precious treasure. What, then, ought you
to do? I will tell you.
1. The very least that you can do with the Bible
is to Read it. If I, your General, sent you a letter,
you could not do less than read it over, try to under-
stand it, and strive to do what I requested in it.
The Bible is a Letter from your Heavenly Father ;
you cannot do less with His Letter than you would
do with one from The General.
2. Bead it alone. Read a few verses at a time;
read them on your knees ; read them as you walk
the streets ; while you take your midday meal,
when you rise in the morning, when you retire at
night; and read the blessed Book in your spare
moments.
3. Read it in your Families. Impress its precious
Truths on your children, if you are Parents. Explain
them to the ignorant — make them understand. Use
the " Soldier's Guide." If you read a Chapter of
that Book every morning and one every night, you
will go through the Bible in a year.*
* The " Soldier's Guide " is a selection of readings from the Bible
for morning and evening each day in the year. It is so arranged
as to include nearly the whole of the Bible in the year's readings.
May be obtained from 100, Clerkenwell Road, London, E.C. Price :
red French morocco, gilt, 2«. %d, ; red leather, 1«. ^d, ; red cloth, 1«.
11
162 Religion for Every day.
4. See to it that you experience in your own hearts
the blessings the Bible oflFers you. Remember, it
will be little better than a curse to you if you only
know the Word, and do not possess and live in the
spirit of it If you only believe it with your head,
and do not enjoy the things that it describes, and
accept the Mercy, wash in the Fountain, receive
the Holy Ghost, and live and die in the light and
joy of its good tidings, it will only add to your
condemnation and guilt.
5. Fulfil the Duties it commands. It is the
doers of the Word who are blessed. Make it the
guide of your life : at home, abroad, in your Corps,
in sickness and health, in joy and sorrow, every-
where and all the time.
6. Publish the Salvation of the Bible wherever
you go — in the Streets — in the Barracks — in your
Home — at your Work — everywhere tell the Glad
Tidings.
Oh, my Comrades, do not let the Bible rise up
in judgment against you, as it surely will if you
either neglect it, or if, reading and knowing about
the Salvation and Victory of which it tells, you do
not enjoy that Salvation and experience that Victory.
163
XXIV.
The Sabbath.
My Deab Comrades, —
I would like to say something to yon about
the duty of keeping the Sabbath.
That day was, as you all know, set apart by
God to be a special day of rest, and concerning it
He said, ** Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it
holy." That commandment has never been repealed,
and is therefore binding on us to-day.
There is, however, I think, a good deal of ignorance
and misunderstanding with many people as to the
manner and spirit in which the Sabbath ought to
be observed. Some seem to think we can keep it
or not, just as we choose. Others imagine that
the Jew alone is under the obligation to pay any
attention to its observance, while in the opinion and
practice of many Christians it is abolished altogether.
Now, in order that you may have a correct view
of what is expected of Salvation Soldiers, in keeping
the Sabbath, I ask your careful attention to what
I have to say on the subject.
1. And first of all I remark that it is not any
particular sacredness about that particular day which
makes it The Lord's day, for all days according to
164 Reugion for Every Day.
Jesns and His Apostles are alike holy to those who
serve Him.
Bnt that it is the doing or the leaving undone
of certain things which makes the day set apart
for the Sabbath a holy day.
Let me try to illustrate my meaning. Some
time ago I held a meeting of ministers and citizens
in the city of Philadelphia, in the United States,
for the purpose of a£fording information respecting
The Army. After doing so, I threw the meeting
open for anyone who wished for further explanations
to ask me questions. Among others, a gentleman
belonging to a small sect which observes the Sabbath
on our Saturday, asked what were the views of The
Army with respect to the observance of the Sabbath
on the Seventh instead of the First day of the week.
I answered that a good Salvationist had seven
Sundays a week. The great bulk of my audience
were both pleased and satisfied with my reply.
Now you, my Comrades, will understand that by
a Salvationist having seven Sundays a week, I meant
that every day of every week ought to be alike
sacred to God, and sacredly employed in doing His
will. One day, or a thousand years, are the same
to God, and all our days and all our years belong
to Him, and ought to be equally employed in doing
His blessed will. That is what the Apostle Paul
meant when he said, " Whether therefore ye eat,
or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory
of God." Now if this command of the Holy Spirit,
given by Paul is observed, you will see that every
meal we partake of will become a sacrament, and
The Sabbath. 165
every duty we perform will be an act of religion,
and every day we live will be a sacred day, a Sabbath
of peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Yes, every day alike belongs to God. In trying
to show the importance of keeping the Sabbath,
some people will say, "When God has given you
six days for yourself, keeping only one back for
Himself, how wicked it must be to rob Him of
the one I " But this is a mistaken way of stating
the truth, seeing that God commands you to be as
truly religious on Monday as on Sunday, and to
strive as earnestly to please Him when you are doing
your daily work on the six days, as when you are
resting in your home, or praying in your meetings,
on the other, ff you do not obey this rule, you will
not be a true Salvationist.
2. While, however, every day belongs alike to
God, there is a difference in the character and oppor-
tunities of the Sabbath day, and consequently there
will be a difference in the character of the service
expected from us by God on that particular day;
and I would like to show you, as far as is possible,
what God expects from us on the Sabbath ; in other
words, I would like to describe what I think should
be a Salvationist's Sunday: —
1. It should be a day of rest from all unnecessary
labour, both for ourselves and for others.
2. It should be a day for the special worship of
God, both in public and private.
3. It should be a day of extra effort, by works
of love and mercy, for the well-being of the bodies
aa4 souls of men,
168 Reugion for Every Day.
XXV.
The Salvationist's Sunday*
My Dear Comradbs, —
My message to you in my last Letter concerned
the Sabbath, and as it was not completed when we
broke off, I must return to the subject.
Perhaps I ought to have called upon you to praise
God for our Sabbath. The day is indeed a blessing
to those who know how to use it, and to us who love
the souls of men, and desire to work for their salva-
tion, the Sunday is a priceless opportunity, one which
we cannot very easily value too highly. Is it not
our great day of battle and victory, our time both for
sowing the seed and gathering in the harvest ? Yes,
let every Salvationist thank God for the Sabbath Day.
Now I was telling you what I think should belong
to a Salvationist's Sunday, and setting forth some
of the things that seem to me to make it a holy day.
I mentioned first resting from all unnecessary work.
Let me have another word on that point.
1. A Salvationist's Sunday ought to be a day of
rest from unnecessary travelling. The Jew was not
allowed to travel more than about three miles. That
distance was called "A Sabbath Day's journey."
That command said in spirit to the Israelite, " Don't
travel farther than is actually necessary to meet your
immediate needs or to do good to your fellow-men,"
The Salvationist's Sunday. 169
2. The Salvationist's Sunday should be a Day of
Rest from unnecessary labour in cleaning up and in
dressing. Sunday clothes may become a great snare
and burden. Many Soldiers make it a practice to
prepare their meals, brush their clothes, and clean
their boots on Saturday night, so as to enable them
to be "Free for Service" next day. Strive as far
as you possibly can, for your own sake, to make it
a Day of Rest from such things. Let your body and
your brain rest. Your life will be healthier, more
vigorous, and happier, and it will last longer with
the Sabbath Best than without it.
Perhaps someone will say, " How will this fit in
with my Sunday toil at my Corps, or away at the
Outpost, in the Open-Air with the Juniors, or in
some other form ? With me Sunday is in some ways
the hardest-worked day of the week." I have no
doubt it is, my Comrades; it has always been so
with me. But while it has been the hardest, it has
also been the gladdest day, and in the change of work
I have found rest. Moreover, works of Necessity, of
Charity, and of Mercy are not only profitable to man,
but are acceptable to God, and that is keeping the Sab-
bath Holy in the best and noblest sense of the word.
3. The Salvationist finds in the Sabbath an extra
opportunity for the worship and service of God. His
change of work and his extra meetings draw out his
thoughts and feelings in thanksgiving to his Lord
and Saviour. He looks into his own heart by self-
examination. He prays, and sings, and worships his
Father in Heaven, and reconsecrates himself to His
blessed service, He thinks about the love of Christ,
170 Reugion for Every Day,
and 80 learns to love Him more, and drinks of His
Spirit to help him in the toil and conflict of the week.
4. A good Salvationist keeps the Sabbath by avail-
ing himself of the extra opportunities it oflfers for
spreading salvation. The people are more at leisure
than on other days. The absorption and anideties
connected with their daily toil are oflF their minds.
It is true that in some countries there is the excite-
ment afforded by the extra facilities for pleasure and
recreation ; but in others, large masses of the people
are wholly without occupation or amusement. They
have literally nothing to do but lie in bed and read
the newspaper or the novel, or hang about gossiping,
or admiring each others' clothes. There they are,
and there is our opportunity :
To Visit them in their Homes.
To Talk to them in the Streets.
To Attract them to our Halls.
To get the Holy Ghost down upon them, and so
convince them of sin, and bring them to God and
save their souls.
This must be, nay, I am sure it is, a plan of keeping
the Sabbath which is peculiarly pleasing and accept-
able to God, and highly profitable both for this
world and the next to those who faithfully adopt it.
5. Salvationists who are parents should make the
Sunday at home, as happy and useful as they
possibly can to every member of the household. It
will be found very useful to arrange for a little quiet
time with the children, enquiring into what has been
going on at school, asking about their time for prayer,
and giving tender and loving advice. When the
The Salvationist's Sunday. 171
circumstances allow, parents may very usefully take
the elder children with them to the Open- Air meeting,
using the time in. coming and going to speak of the
work God wants them to do in the world, and making
the young folks feel what a splendid thing it is to
stand up for Him and play their part in His service.
And now, I must add a word of caution. I know
of nothing so likely to spoil Sunday at home as
useless talking — such talk as is often associated with
tea-parties and long country walks, and other ways
of passing the time. I warn you against these.
Whenever friends or Comrades drop in to see you,
try to bless them in their souls, and try to help
them to bless you. Let there be a little singing at
the tea-table, and then some prayer — real heart-crying
to Gk)d. If any present are unsaved, try your best
to help them to decision. Thousands of souls will
appear in glory by-and-by who have been either
first convicted or led to Christ at such little Sunday
gatherings in the homes of Salvationists.
6. Salvationists should not only keep the Sabbath
after the fashion I have described themselves, but they
must see that all under their influence or authority are
given proper opportunities of doing so. Be care-
ful of the servant, if you have one ; be especially
careful of the wife, whose Sunday is often, I am
afraid, a very hard day, just for want of a little
thought and care on her husband's part. Be careful
of your fellow-servants, if you are yourself a servant.
Try to get them the chance you so much prize, of
going to the meeting. God will notice your thought
in helping them to keep His Sabbath and your care
for their souls, and reward you in His own way.
172 Religion for Every Day.
XXVI.
Duty*
My Deab Comradbs, —
Everyone knows that on going into the Battle
of Trafalgar, Lord Nelson hoisted at his masthead the
signal, " England expects every man to do his Dnty."
That sentence has been memorable ever since.
I suppose that this expectation is not confined
to any one Nation, but that every Country cherishes
the same expectation from its Subjects. I am quite
certain that The General of The Salvation Army
expects that every Soldier in its Banks will do his
Duty to his Saviour, to his Flag, to his Principles,
to his Country, to his Saviour, and to a Dying World.
Duty is a good old English word. I like it very
much. It is so expressive, and so well understood
by young and old, rich and poor, saint and sinner
alike. Who is there that does not know what is
meant by doing his Duty?
Duty signifies neither more nor less than doing
what you feel you ought to do, and leaving undone
what you know you ought not to do.
It may apply to a man's deciding on a course he
intends to follow for life, as for instance : —
A sinner giving up his sins, a drunkard renouncing
the drink, a swindler abandoning his cheating, a liar
forswearing his fftlsehood, and that for ever f^nd ever,
Duty. 173
Have yon, my Comrades, pot away from yon every
evil habit ? If not, that is what God requires from
yon at this very moment. Will yon do yonr Dnty ?
It may apply to a Saint placing himself and all
he possesses at the service of his Saviour. Have
yon done that? If not, yon cannot truthfully say
that yon have done yonr Duty.
It may apply to a Soldier offering himself to be
an Officer, or to fill any other post for which he may
be thought best qualified in The Army, being ready
and willing to fight at that post to his dying day.
What are you called to ? Will you do your Duty ?
The word Duty may apply to something which
is more or less the act of the hour, such as the
reading of yonr Bible, 'praying in your family, speaking
to someone about his soul, going to the Open-Air,
giving money to feed the poor, wearing Uniform, or
the like. When the call comes to yon for any of these
things, you must do your Duty.
Now, the first thing a Soldier has to do with what
appears to be his Duty is to give himself up to its
performance, whatever the consequences.
When Duty presents itself. Comrades : —
Do not stop to enquire about your ability or
worthiness to perform the task. All yon want to
know about it is, " Is it my Duty ? "
Do not stop to consult yonr feelings. They will
possibly, nay, very likely, be in direct opposition both
to yonr judgment and your conscience. Simply ask,
« Is this my Duty ? "
Do not stop to ask how far it will affect yonr
worldly interests, risk your health, please yonr
174 REUGION for EVERY DAY.
family, or anything else. Remember Daniel and the
Three Hebrew Children, and ask, " Is it my Dnty ? "
Look at the precions things that will follow the
doing of your Duty : —
(i) To begin with, doing your Duty is inseparably
connected with your Peace of Mind. Peace is a great
treasure, but you cannot have peace without a clear
conscience, and you cannot have a clear conscience
without doing your Duty. You can settle that once
for all. If you are to have that precious treasure
amid the storms and changes and disappointments
of life, you must do your Duty.
(ii) Doing your Duty is a condition of the assurance
of the Divine Favour. The assurance of Gk)d's
favour means the witness of the Holy Spirit in the
soul, not only to the fact of your being a child of
God, but that God is pleased with the way in which
you are conducting yourself in all the a£fairs of your
every-day life. But if you are neglecting that Duty,
how can He testify to the fact that you are doing
it? You must do your Duty.
(iii) Keeping on doing your Duty is the only way by
which you can build up a strong Character. To be able
to resist the Devil, trample on his Temptations, glory
in the Cross, live above the World, to spend and to
be spent for the Salvation of Souls, is a condition of
heart and will that must be admired of the Angels.
Do you want to be strong enough to always do the
right? Then, whether pleasant or painful, keep on
doing your Duty.
If you want to be a proper Example for those
around you to imitate, keep on doing your Duty.
Duty. 175
You are watched continually — ^in your home, at your
work, in the Corps. Someone's eyes are always on
you. Someone is always reckoning you up, and judg-
ing whether you are what you profess to be or not ;
or, what is more important still, someone is always
shaping their own doings and character by yours.
You have probably heard the story of the man
who complained to his minister that he had four
miles to walk to his Church. " Oh, my dear fellow,"
said the Parson, " you must not grumble at that.
You have an opportunity every Sunday morning of
preaching a sermon four miles long." He meant
that all the people along the road he travelled had
an example before their eyes which said, " Why don't
you go to Church ? Why don't you do your Duty ? "
When you pray, when you sing, when you suffer
without repining, when you carry one another's
burdens, when you warn sinners, when you give your
money ; in short, whenever you do any good act, you
say by your action to those around you, *' Go, and
do likewise. Do your Duty I Do your Duty I "
The Esteem of those around you, and in many
cases your own earthly profit, will be promoted by
your doing your Duty. Men who hate your Saviour
and despise your religion will admire you, and employ
you, and reward you, if they are confident that you
do your Duty. They will say : " That man is not
governed by what is pleasant, or easy, or profitable
to himself at the moment, or even by what will
gratify other people. He means to do his Duty."
If you want the Review of your Life to give
you satisfaction when you come to your death-bed,
A
176 Reugion for Every day.
you must do your Duty. In that terrible battle of
Trafalgar to which I have referred, Nelson was
mortally wounded. They carried him below to die,
and when the last moment came he said to a
favourite Captain who was bending over him, " Kiss
me, Hardy. Now I am satisfied. Thank God, I have
done my Duty." Now, I say nothing here about
the cruel business of war. But leaving that entirely
out of the question, I do feel that there was some-
thing very pathetic about this incident, and I want
to ask you one or two questions suggested by it.
If death overtook you, my Comrades, to-night,
would you be able to say,
" Husband, Wife, kiss me. I am leaving you, but
I am satisfied. Thank God, I have done my Duty I
" Father, Mother, Children, kiss me. I have loved
your souls, and toiled for your Salvation. Thank
God, I have done my Duty !
" Brother, Sister, Master, Servant, kiss me. I have
tried to bless you. I am satisfied. Thank Gk)d, I
have done my Duty !
*^ Comrades, Captain, Lieutenant, kiss me. I have
fought with you, and been true to the dear old Flag.
I am satisfied. Thank God, I have done my Duty I "
Would you be able to say this? And when, at
the Judgment Seat, you meet these dear ones again,
and the poor Sinners who now live around about
you, speeding on their way to the land of Misery
and Despair, will you be able to say to them, " I
knew you on earth ; I loved you ; I prayed for you ;
and in trying to save you I did my Duty " ?
177
APPENDIX.
HINTS ON HEALTH AND THE WATER
TREATMENT.
Of course this is not intended as a treatise on
Hydropathy, but only a few simple directions for
treating those diseases to which our people are most
exposed, and which, if badly managed, often leave
consequences of a serious nature.
Some considerable experience and observation have
satisfied us that there is no system of treatment so
effectual in curing disease or in preventing serious
consequences.
The neglect of the skin, in dealing with sickness,
is a strange evidence of want of thought and common
sense in the great majority of people. When we
remember that there are in the skin of every human
body upwards of seven millions of pores, the main
purpose of which is to drain away from the body
that which nature cannot use in sustaining or building
it up, we need not be surprised that when, for months
together, these pores are to a great extent blocked
up, the blood becomes charged with impurity, and
that the whole system is consequently deranged.
When people generally learn the value of God's
precious, beautiful gift of water, both internally and
12
178 Religion for Every Day.
externally, there will be far less suffering and much
greater happiness and length of life.
We have frequently been astonished and amused at
the prejudice manifested against any kind of applica-
tion of water to the whole body, but as the knowledge
and experience of the beneficial results following the
free use of water increases, this prejudice will, we
trust, pass away, and such persons will not only
prolong their own lives, but save the lives of many
of their children to become workers in The Salvation
Army.
COLD SPONGE BATH.
•
Perhaps one of the most valuable applications of
water is the simple cold bath every morning, for those
who are strong enough to bear it. This is cleanly,
invigorating, and a mre preventive against taking
cold^ and can be easily managed in the following
way : — Where a person has not the convenience of
a hip-bath — ^that is, one of those baths in which the
bather sits down — he should get a large tub, and a
good-sized sponge or piece of flannel. On getting
out of bed, the person should tie his night-shirt round
his waist, kneel down and sponge his head and
shoulders well to begin with, drying his hair with
the sponge; then let him sit down in the water and
sponge his shoulders and body, laving the water up
in the sponge and letting it run down his back, then
rise up and step in and sponge his legs. He can
apply the water, much or little, as he feels he can
bear it. Where there is a feeble reaction and the
weather very cold, he need not do much more than
wet himself, or he may take the chill off the cold
water by adding a little warm to it.
A thick, common, rough brown sheet is the best
thing to dry with. It can be wrapped round the body
on coming out of the water, so as to prevent taking
Appendix. 179
a cbill from the coldness of the atmosphere. The
bather should rub himself smartly, till he feels all
in a glow.
WET SHEET PACK.
(For fevers in general.)
When a person becomes feverish, giddy, and rest-
less, or manifests other symptoms of approaching
sickness, a wet pack, properly given, can do no harm,
and, in almost every case, will do incalculable good.
The best way to apply this, is as follows : —
Spread three or four blankets on a bed, so that the
patient can be laid down in the centre and the ends
folded over him. Then take a small sheet that will
reach from the neck to the ankles. Wring this
tightly out of cold water, or, if the patient is very
delicate, out of tepid or warm water, and spread the
towel or sheet on the top of the blankets.
Then undress the patient as quickly as possible, and
let him lie on his back on the sheet, lifting the arms,
so that one end of the sheet can be wrapped round
the body under the arms. Then lay the arms down,
and bring the other end of the sheet over the arms.
Then, as quickly as possible, bring over first one side
and then the other of the first blanket, tucking it in
tightly round the neck and shoulders and along each
side, then the second, and so on till all the blankets
are wrapped in.
In cases of much fever a cloth wrung out of mustard
and water— (about a dessert-spoonful of mustard to a
quart of warm water) — should be put to the soles of
the feet (which should be wrapped in a separate
piece of flannel). Then draw the edges of the
blankets well over the feet, putting a hot bottle or
brick outside the second blanket, or near enough to
warm the feet without burning them.
Then put on the outside a down quilt, or a couple
s
180 Reugion for Every Day.
of pillows, or a double blanket, or warm rag, over all,
to keep the warmth in.
In cases of threatening of fever the throat should
be packed separately^ before putting the patient in
the other pack, by a strip of calico or linen doubled
into four, wrung out of cold water, wrapped round
the throat, with a piece of flannel put over it. When
in the pack, cloths wrung out of cold water should
be applied to the head, and sips of cold water may
be given to drink, or, in case of faintness, a little
warm milk.
The patient may be kept in the pack from three
quarters of an hour to an hour and a quarter, accord-
ing to the severity of the symptoms.
When the time has come to take the patient out,
have ready by the side of the bed a hip-bath, or tub,
containing a pail of warm water, in which a couple
of towels tacked together, or a small sheet, should
be immersed. Then unwrap the patient as quickly
as possible, and let him sit down in the bath; lift
the sheet up out of the water and put it round the
patient's neck like a cloak, and rub it quickly over
with the hand outside the towel. Then have a dry
sheet or towels ready, and slip the wet towel off
and the dry one on. Dry the patient well, put on
his night-dress, and let him go to bed for a time.
In cases of great weakness, make the length of
the time in the pack half an hour, and rub over on
the bed with a wet towel wrung out of tepid water,
instead of the bath.
SITZ OR mP-BATH.
The sitz-bath may be considered one of the most
useful appliances for home treatment and a most
powerful tonic— derivative in its action. Scarcely
any vessel is so generally useful in a private house,
and there is no form of bathing appliance so universally
resorted to from which so much benefit is derived.
Appendix. 1 81
without its users appreciating its true value. What
is understood as a sitz or hip-bath considered hydro-
pathically is a vessel in which the patient is seated in
tepid or cold water as the case may need, with the
feet outside and the body covered with a blanket to
prevent exposure to the air of the room. There should
be sufficient depth of water to embrace the whole
of the bowels, the stomach, the lower portion of the
liver and the lungs, while at the back the water should
extend about two-thirds of the way up the spine, thus
covering the kidneys.
The beneficial action of the sitz-bath is various. It
is had recourse to for weakness of the digestive
apparatus, for piles and weakness of the bowels, loose-
ness or constipation, uterine or kidney affections, also
for undue flow of blood to the head and general
debility. I have also found it very useful for brain
workers, taken twice a day for about ten minutes
each time. The temperature of the water must be
regulated necessarily to the patient's age, the time
of the year, whether winter or summer, etc., and the
powers of reaction. As a general rule, during the
winter months the water should range between 65
and 75 degrees, and the duration from seven to twenty
minutes. The best time to take the bath is at eleven
a.m. and five p.m., but it should never be taken until
two or three hours after a full meal and about half an
hour to an hour before a meal.
When the sitz-bath is resorted to for constipation,
it acts upon a person very much better when it is
preceded by hot applications across the bowels for
thirty minutes.
THE BED BATH.
In this bath the Nurse, without disturbing the
bed-clothes, slips a warm blanket under the patient,
and, after removing the night-dress, holds up the
bed-clothes with one hand and with the other sponges
182 Reugion for Every Day.
the body all over. The process is followed by a brisk
dry rubbing. Local spongings are administered in
the same way. Extreme caution should be observed
in order to avoid chilling the patient. In very delicate
cases the sponge should be dipped in tepid water ; in
ordinary cases in cool or cold water. The bed bath
is only resorted to in cases of extreme debility and
difficulty of reaction. It is very soothing and often
induces sleep when nothing else will. In cases of
SOARLBT FBVBR,
the pack may be repeated twice a day (in the forenoon
and about five o'clock in the evening), until the
eruption is well out, after which sponging over with
warm water daily, and a pack every other day, will
suffice to complete the cure.
In measles and other eruptive fevers the pack once
a day will generally be sufficient.
We have found this treatment most effectual with
our own family, having nursed seven of them at one
time through scarlet fever and measles with no other
treatment, save a little Homeopathic medicine, and
in no case was any evil consequence of the disease
left behind.
SMALL-POX.
The much dreaded malady of small-pox is by this
same treatment reduced to an ordinary and easily
curable disease. The pack twice a day from the
beginning will of itself cure the most malignant cases ;
and such has been our experience and observation
with respect to the water treatment in this disease,
that we should have no doubt that we should be
able thereby to save nine out of every ten persons
who die of it.
If any of our people whose children or friends are
attacked with this disease will carry out these in-
structionBy and give the patient plenty of Cream of
Appendix. 183
Tartar (putting about two teaspoonfuls to a pint of
water, with sugar to taste) to drink, they will prove
by experience the truth of our opinions.
RHEUMATIC OR GASTRIC FEVER.
Give the same kind of pack, only adding a little
mustard — about one ounce to half a pail of the water
that the sheet or towels is wrung out of. Our
experience is against all beef tea or other animal
soups, or broths, in these diseases — milk and farina-
ceous foods are best.
INACTIVITY OF THE LIVER, SORB THROAT, ETC.
The liver bandage is prepared by using pieces of
linen mackintosh, and wet inner linen, long enough to
extend from the middle of the chest, round the right
side to the spine, and broad or deep enough to extend
from the armpits to the hips, with two pieces of tape
attached at each end, sufficiently long to tie at the
opposite side.
This bandage is intended to be worn constantly for
inactivity of the liver, enlargements, etc., and after
wearing a short time, its beneficial effects are evidenced
by an alteration in the action of the liver.
In cases of lumbago, the liver bandage can be used
across the loins, and, if re-wetted may be worn night
and day.
Where there is any perturbation of the heart, the
same bandage may be worn on the left side, the only
difference being that the bandage should be hollowed
out under the arms, so that it may extend to the level
of the shoulder, with ail elastic loop to suspend it, and
one string below, to bind it round the waist. For
FEVERISH COLDS
or other slight attacks of a feverish nature, a body pack
is often very helpfal and comforting. This is a pack
184 Reugion for Every Day.
exactly like the other, but only of the size to apply
to the trnnk of the body, and does not include the
arms and legs, and, of coarse, the patient must be
wrapped in with small blankets or flannels instead
of large ones. For
SOBB THROATS
and all kinds of throat affections^ the wet compress is
invaluable. This consists of three or four folds of
wet cloth, wrapped round the throat and covered with
three or four thicknesses of flannel, so as to prevent
the air getting in at the edges. The cloth should
be re-wetted as soon as dry, and kept on until the
inflammation is gone. On removing the compress, the
throat should be well sponged with cold water to
prevent the patient taking cold. In severe cases,
a gargle composed of a teaspoonful of Condy's Fluid
to a pint of water will be very advantageous. For
INFLAMED EYES
from cold or feverishness, put on a wet pad composed
of four thicknesses of linen wrung out of cold water
and bound round with a napkin when the patient
goes to bed. This may be re-wetted during the night
if necessary, and when it is taken off in the morning,
the eyes should be well bathed with cold water. All
cases of n.
DIFFICULTIES OF THE BLADDER OR URINE
will be greatly relieved, and often cured, by simple
warm sitz-baths. This may be managed by a hip-
bath or round tub, half-filled with comfortably warm
water. Let the patient sit in the water from five
to twenty minutes, putting round his legs a shawl
or small rug to keep the air from him. This may
be repeated as often as the patient complains of
uneasiness, only taking the precaution to sponge over
with cold wat^r wheu taken out. A piece of double
Appendix. 185
flannel shonld be worn over the kidneys to prevent
taking cold, together with a good drink twice a day
of linseed tea.
In all these cases great care shonld be taken with
the DIET. The patient should not take any salt food
or other highly seasoned food ; in fact, the more he
is confined to bread, milk, and vegetable, the better.
For cases of simple
DIABBHCEA
a body bandage will often be fonnd beneficial, made
just the same as a throat bandage, only large enough
to cover the abdomen, and bound on with flannel.
In bad cases this may be wrung out of slightly warm
water, two or three times a day, and the patient kept
as quiet as possible, and fed on milk, hasty pudding,
made of flour and milk, and similar things.
For confined bowels the same kind of bandage
put on every night, and taken off in the morning,
will often prove of great service. Sponge over with
cold water, when the compress is taken off in the
morning. In
RHEUMATIC FEVER,
Chronic Rheumatism^ Common Coldy and Influenza^
the lamp-bat^ is an invaluable remedy.
A pr6per lamp for this purpose c^n be got for
28. 6d. ; but where that cannot be had, the bath can
be given in the following way : —
Take a small earthenware jar, such as a marmalade
or jam pot; put into it about three-pennyworth of
methylated spirits of wine, which can be bought at
the oil shops at lOd. a quart. Put about half a
teacupful of cold water into a plate or large saucer ;
then set the jar with the methylated spirits in it in
this plate or saucer, and put the plate with the jar in
it on the floor, under a Windsor or some wooden-
186 Reugion for Every Day.
bottomed chair, putting four or five doubles of old
blanket or thick flannel on the seat, to prevent too
great heat coming through.
Then undress the patient, and let him sit down in
the chair. His feet should be put in a tin or basin of
hot water. Have two or three blankets, or a blanket
and a quilt, ready. Put the blanket round the
patient's neck and over the back of the chair, reaching
from the neck to the ground, and coming all round
the chair and foot-pan. Pin this blanket round the
neck in the front. Then over that one put another
round in front of the patient, pinning it at the back,
to keep the hot air from escaping. Pull the bottoms
of the blankets as far out from the chair all round as
possible, and there will be no danger of their catching
fire. The blankets must reach to the ground, and if
one is not large enough, tack two together ; this will
form a complete tent round the person.
When this is done, light a match and set fire to the
spirit in the jar under the chair. This will burn
steadily until all the air inside the blankets is
thoroughly heated, and the person will begin to
perspire freely. He may be kept in, after he begins
to perspire, from ten to twenty minutes, according to
the severity of the symptoms.
If the heat becomes too intense, lift up a corner of
the blanket now and then to let the cold air in. Cold
water cloths on the head and sips of cold water may
be of use, as in the pack. When ready to be taken
out, have a hip-bath or tub with tepid water, with a
sheet in it, similar to that prescribed in the former
pack. (The best way to put out the light is by
smothering it ; that is, putting a saucer or small
plate on the top of the jar in which the spirits are
burning, not blowing it out.) If this bath is given
with ordinary care, there is not the slightest danger,
while it would relieve many a poor sufferer and save
many a valuable life.
Appendix. 187
k. VAPOUR BATH
may be given in exactly the same way, only substitute
half a pail of boiling water instead of the lamp, and
half a hot brick taken out of the fire; put the latter
into the water when the patient is seated, to keep
the water boiling and produce plenty of steam. If
there should be too much steam, open the blankets
as before and let a little out. The treatment on
coming out should be the same as after the lamp-
bath.
SOAKING THE FEET IN HOT WATER.
A mistake very commonly made is to put the feet
in water as hot as the patient can bear, and then to
let it gradually cool. This often does more harm
than good. The water ought to be of a moderate
heat at first, and a kettle of boiling water should be
kept near, so that the attendant can keep adding a
little, so making the heat of the water greater when
the feet are taken out than when they were put in.
Mustard added to the water is also a great advantage.
On taking the feet out they should be well dried,
and warm wool stockings put on, if the patient is
going to remain indoors ; but if he has to go out, he
should plunge his feet quickly into cold water before
wiping, taking them out again immediately ; but the
safest plan is to go to bed.
HOT FOMENTS.
Very few people know how to give hot foments
properly. We have frequently seen them being
applied with the water running out of the edges of
the flannels, dribbling down into the bed, making the
sheets and everything wet, cold, and miserable round
the patient. The proper way to give a foment is to
have a piece of flannel, of not less than four folds,
torn to the proper size to cover the part.
188 Religion for Every Day.
The water, or mustard and water, should be as hot
as the person wrinring can possibly bear. The
flannel should be folded straight before it is put in,
and not put in all of a lump. Then it should be lifted
out into a coarse towel, which should be wrung as
tightly as possible with the flannel in it. This
should be quickly taken out of the towel and put on
the part and covered with hot dry flannel — a piece
of old blanket folded is good; or, better still, a
mackintosh bottle about one-third full of hot water.
This is a very good plan, seeing that with a hot
bottle over it there is no necessity to re-wet the
flannel, and this saves fatiguing the patient by
constant change. The hot foments should be con-
tinued till the pain is relieved, and when taken off,
a warm dry flannel should be put over the part.
For inflammation of all parts of the body this is
invaluable, and may be repeated as often as the pain
returns. In cases of bad colic, or even
GHOLEBA,
we should recommend the hottest sitz-bath the person
can sit in, for as long as the patient can sit in them,
hot water being continually added to keep up the
temperature. The water to come right up over the
bowels, and a good strong dose of cayenne pepper,
say as much as would lie on a threepenny-piece, in
a tumbler of hot water, should be drunk ; to be
repeated every half-hour, or until further advice can
be obtained.
ABSCESSES AND GATHEBINGS.
Hot water poultices ; hot foments, — Poultices of
linseed meal and bread are the best applications,
keeping them always moist and hot
In the case of gathered fingers, where people are
obliged to use their hands, strips of linen wrung out
Appendix. 189
of cold water, wrapped round and covered with a
finger-stall, are better than poultices, only they need
to be re-wetted as soon as they get dry.
In cases where gatherings and whitlows do not
heal, hold them in a lotion of hot water and Condy's
Fluid (about a teaspoonful to a tumbler of water),
as often as possible.
MUSTARD PLASTERS.
We find that chilli poultices are far better than
mustard, answer the same purpose, and do not make
the skin sore afterwards. Ground chillies are to be
bought at the chemist's, or herbalist's, or hydropathic
establishments, but in case they cannot be obtained,
the ordinary cayenne pepper may be used.
Make a hot bread poultice, spread it out, and
sprinkle the chillies or the cayenne pepper moderately
over the face of it, then cover it with a piece of thin
muslin and apply it to the part.
This may be kept on an hour or two- and repeated
frequently without producing any soreness of the skin.
For
WEAKLY PATIENTS
who perspire at night and are generally delicate,
water for the bath in the morning should have just
the chill taken off it, and a slightly warm bath at
night will often help sleep. Such patients should,
if possible, always sleep alone^ and on a soft mattress
— never on feather beds — and the covering should be
light and warm. Thick and heavy quilts are very
injurious to delicate persons.
In conclusion, we would recommend our people with
families to procure two pairs of small grey blankets
for bath purposes, which can be bought for about
55. 6rf. a pair. They will more than pay their cost
in saving the bed blankets.
190 Religion for Every Day.
Brown mnstard, suitable for packing pnrposes, and
not half the price of ordinary mnstard, can be had
by ordering at most stores, or at hydropathic establish-
ments. In nsin^ this kind of mnstard, however,
rather more mnst be nsed to the quantity of water.
FBBSH AIR.
Fresh air is of the greatest valne both in preserving
health and in all kinds of sickness and weakness.
Open your windows as mnch as possible — indeed
there should always be one window open — only avoid
putting the patient in a draught. Thousands of people
are imide invalids by being put to sleep in too close
sleeping rooms.
FriMtd l^f SauU, Watton dt Vinty, Id,, London and A^Mbwy,
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Work for Darkest England. 124 pages. Cloth, i^.; paper, ed.
ON THE BANES OF THE RIVER; or, Mrs. General
Booth's Last Days. A deeply interesting description of
Mrs. Booth's last few months on Earth. 142 pages. Cloth
boards, is, ; paper, 6d,
BIBLE BATTLE-AXES. A live, up-to-date treatise which suc-
ceeds in bringing mankind to the Bible and the Bible to mankind.
184 pages. Cloth, is. 6d.
ORDER FRQM THE SALVATION AR1I7 BOOK DBPARTMBMT, (
LONDON : 100, CLERKENWELL ROAD, E.G.
NEW YORK: 120, WEST FOURTEENTH STREET. AQ^
MELBOURNE : 69, BOURKE STREET.
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